As a medical doctor, educator, and researcher, my experience spans managing emergency departments, chairing academic departments, and leading the academic mission of an institution of higher education. I know how to plan strategically and also triage critical issues that arise on the fly.
I also have higher-education administrative experience aiding in the creation of several initiatives to improve recruitment and retention of a more diverse faculty and also focusing on issues of social mobility that encourage the development of partnerships with local organizations.
How does your background as a medical doctor shape your leadership style and priorities?
As an emergency doctor, you never know who you’ll be working with that day, how many patients you’ll encounter, or what medical crisis you’ll be treating. You must be able to do immediate prioritization, work within any team, and build teams that are appropriate to the task at hand.
At the College, there hasn’t been a single day that I am not interrupted by a disruption that requires decisive action. Emergency medicine was a very good teacher for my current role.
What makes Lake Forest College so unique?
We offer a fundamental grounding in the liberal arts, and the disciplines we teach are applied in professional contexts. For example, we offer a health professions program to prepare students for a myriad of careers within healthcare, ranging from physician to data scientist. All students receive early, intentional career preparation, regardless of major. We prepare our graduates for a lifetime of careers, not just their first job out of college.
How is the College preparing for the rise of AI?
A liberal arts institution is the perfect lab for tackling big, complex problems. Whether it’s AI or the next thing: our students are trained to take complexities and break them down into smaller manageable parts. AI isn't just a technological topic; it affects all aspects of life. Our students’ breadth of training makes them nimble and agile in learning how to work with AI. We were recently awarded a $1.2 million Mellon Foundation grant to fund a multi-year initiative that explores AI through a humanities perspective. Learn more in this blog.
