As I enter my fourth year as dean and we continue to build on the Heersink School of Medicine’s strong momentum, we are undertaking a thoughtful review and refinement of our leadership structure. Several upcoming leadership transitions offer an opportunity to reassess how we are organized and create a model that best aligns with our strategic aims and positions us for continued success while staying true to the collaborative culture we value.
A primary component of this effort is the introduction of the Office of Academic Affairs and Professional Development as a key organizational pillar. A review of peer best practices showed that unifying these efforts under one umbrella creates a simplified structure for faculty to navigate across the full career life cycle. To that end, we will introduce a senior associate dean for academic affairs and professional development to guide our Faculty Affairs, Leadership Development, Access and Engagement, and Wellness teams and build upon our existing strengths in these areas. The related offices will continue to oversee their respective responsibilities, initiatives, and programs while also working together more seamlessly to meet the evolving needs of our people and programs. I remain fully committed to these areas and consider them essential to fostering a thriving academic environment.
We will launch a national search for a senior associate dean for academic affairs and professional development in August. As we establish this new, full-time leadership role, Dr. Herb Chen will continue to focus on his responsibilities as chair of the UAB Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief for UAB Hospital and UAB Health System while transitioning to a new role of senior advisor to me and my leadership team. I am grateful to Dr. Chen for his outstanding service as senior associate dean for academic affairs and appreciate his continued commitment to advancing the mission of our school.
As mentioned, part of this realignment will focus on access and engagement, which is key to cultivating an environment where all our faculty, staff, and trainees can achieve their full potential. Dr. Mona Fouad will step down as senior associate dean for access and engagement effective December 2026 so she can focus her efforts as CEO of Live HealthSmart Alabama. The senior associate dean role will not be refilled and Dr. Raegan Durant, who has served skillfully as associate dean of access and engagement since 2022, will act as the primary leader for our school’s Office of Access and Engagement.
Dr. Fouad’s career at UAB began in 1991 and has focused on the health of underserved populations. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2017, in large part for her development of nationally emulated, community-based approaches to reducing health disparities in cancer and in chronic disease prevention and control. She has been a driving force in assembling multidisciplinary teams for understanding and addressing problems related to chronic disease risk factors in the Deep South. Her work in translating science into practice has been transformative in improving health outcomes across the state and nation.
In tandem with this realignment, we are preparing for leadership transitions in our research mission area. As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting a strong and well-governed research enterprise, we will launch a search for an associate dean for research position in recognition that Dr. Victor Darley-Usmar will retire as senior associate dean for research compliance and administration in February 2027. An internal search will launch in August 2026.
Since 2017, Dr. Darley-Usmar has been an instrumental member of the team guiding the strategic management of HSOM research space, including the renovation of McCallum and the design and construction of ALGEN, the Marnix E. Heersink Conference Center, and the new research building. A passionate advocate for research integrity and providing the tools, training, and policies that enable our faculty to perform their research to the highest standard, Dr. Darley-Usmar established strong working relationships with our central partners, particularly the UAB Office of Research, to support the development of Institutional Research Cores and University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Centers.
Dr. Robert Kimberly will step down from his role as senior associate dean for strategic initiatives in March 2027 after three years of service. As the primary goals of this role have been achieved, the position will not be refilled. Dr. Kimberly will remain on faculty as a professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, where he served as division director from 1996-2007.
Dr. Kimberly is the former director and a former multiple principal investigator of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS). He is the architect of the CCTS Partner Network, establishing the foundation for a collaborative research enterprise designed to connect investigators, research teams, institutions, and communities across Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
As announced July 22, our school will soon begin a national search for the next leader to advance our medical education mission. Following more than three decades of outstanding leadership, Dr. Craig Hoesley will step down from his role as senior associate dean for medical education and chair of the Department of Medical Education, effective April 2027.
Taken together, this leadership restructuring is meant to enhance our central objectives of supporting our people and programs, promoting engagement and transparency, and carefully stewarding our resources to achieve the greatest impact. These changes represent a proactive and intentional approach to revitalizing our leadership model—streamlining where appropriate and ensuring that responsibilities are aligned with our most pressing priorities.
One thing I value most as a leader—and we have heard from survey feedback is equally important to our faculty, staff, and trainees—is being accessible, responsive, and transparent. That won’t change. Updating our leadership model will create a support structure that allows me to delegate more effectively while maintaining the accessibility and responsiveness that are critical to me and to our culture.
I extend my thanks in advance to our colleagues who will lead these searches and support the transitions as we undertake this restructuring. We are committed to keeping you informed throughout this process and further details will be shared in the coming weeks. The RFA for the senior associate dean for medical education position ran in the July 30 Heersink School of Medicine Newsletter, and the RFA for the senior associate dean for academic affairs and professional development will appear in the August 13 Newsletter and online. An RFA for the associate dean for research position will post later in August.
In closing, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Herb, Mona, Victor, Bob, and Craig for their service, vision, and lasting contributions to our school as senior associate deans. Their influence is incalculable and will continue to shape our trajectory for years to come.