Blaze Leadership Academy, UAB’s flagship leadership development program for high-potential faculty and staff, has launched its first class for 2021. It will run from January through May.
The 30-member class "is a diverse group, a 50/50 mix of staff and faculty from all over our campus," said Organizational Development Manager Gerriann Fagan. "If they were stranded on a desert island, they would have everything covered. They have expertise in the medical, technical and environmental fields, along with the arts."
In addition to full-group meetings, participants are gathering in small groups between sessions to encourage and support one another. All participants are receiving individual coaching sessions and assistance in creating development plans. Participants may also choose to be paired with a mentor for additional development opportunities.
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This Blaze Leadership Academy class is making use of resources and adjustments pioneered by the Class of 2020, Fagan notes. Virtual meetings through Zoom and use of Docebo, UAB's learning system, has paved the way for the program to be restructured with a slightly shorter timeframe than previous classes, "which has allowed us to scale up to meet demand for this training from across the institution," Fagan said.
Second Blaze Leadership class coming
The call for Blaze Leadership Academy applications at the end of 2020 generated strong interest and a large number of nominees from across campus, Fagan said. "The response was so strong that we will be running a second Blaze class this fall." Nominations will open in summer 2021.
Blaze Leadership Academy Spring 2021 Cohort
Mary Ann Bodine Al-Sharif, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Human Studies
School of Education
Kyle Bailey
Director of Student Experience
INTO UAB
Elizabeth Barstow, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy; Director of the Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation
School of Health Professions
James Byrd, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting and Finance; Director, Masters in Accounting Program
Collat School of Business
Olivio Clay, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
Teresa Coco, M.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
School of Medicine
Annee Cook
Director of Marketing
University Relations
Jill Deaver
Assistant Professor and Head of Lister Hill Library Reference Department
UAB Libraries
Jamie Elliott
Admin Director II, Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology
Joint Health Sciences
Camille Epps
Senior Director of Development
College of Arts and Sciences
Paulette Evans, Ph.D.
Clinical Instructor/Director, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
School of Education
Kamilah Frison
Director of Administrative and Fiscal Affairs
Office of Vice President for Research
Michael Hill
Associate Director, Conflict of Interest Review Board
Kochurani Jacob, Ph.D.
Assistant Director, Research Health and Safety, Department of Environmental Health and Safety
UAB Facilities
Ann Marie Karaki
Program Director III, Continuing Dental Education
School of Dentistry
John Knight, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Urology
School of Medicine
Charitharth Vivek Lal, M.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
School of Medicine
Jaret Langston, Ph.D.
Applications Architect II Manager - Enterprise Enterprise Applications Solutions - Research Support
Information Technology
Jorge Lopez, Ph.D.
Associate Professor/Program Co-Director, Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences
School of Health Professions
Christopher Minnix, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English, Director of Freshman English, Department of English
College of Arts and Sciences
Arie Nakhmani, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
School of Engineering
Pam Paustian, Ph.D.
Executive Director and Associate Professor, Office of eLearning & Professional Studies
Provost
Alicia Rohan
Director of Public Relations
University Relations
John Shacka, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
School of Medicine
Kay Simon
Director, University Events
Advancement
Victoria Smith
Associate Director of First Year Experience, Undergraduate Student Success and Retention
Student Affairs
Robert Sorge, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
College of Arts and Sciences
Laura Tull
Director of Transfer Student Success
Collat School of Business
Tashara Walker
Director, Certification Officer, Office of Student Services
School of Education
Jeffrey Wickliffe, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Health Sciences
School of Public Health