Kim Schatzel, Kelvin Thompson introduced at Staff Senate

University of Louisville’s new president, Kim Schatzel, continued her listening tour throughout the UofL community at the Staff Senate’s Feb. 14, 2023, meeting. In her remarks, Schatzel noted that her first 14 days on the job (she began her service Feb. 1) have been both full and enlightening. To date, Schatzel has met with several constituencies including faculty, staff and students and will continue to do so throughout February, March and early April.

“Leadership is a team sport, and this group [Staff Senate] plays an important role in shared governance at UofL,” said Schatzel.

She added that issues raised at the listening sessions so far have included housing and dining options, staff’s desire for more engagement with students, accessibility to services for non-traditional students, among others. Schatzel emphasized that her listening tour is just that – an opportunity to understand how to best align the university’s culture with its strategic plan and vision for the future.

See the president’s webpage for updates and information about upcoming listening sessions.

The Staff Senate was also introduced to Kelvin Thompson, the university’s new vice provost for online strategy and teaching innovation. Thompson came to UofL in January after 25 years of service at the University of Central Florida, where he most recently served as executive director of the Center for Distributed Learning.

Thompson said that he was drawn to UofL by how the university positions online strategy and teaching innovation, a construct Thompson said is not common in many organizations. In his role, Thompson will assist with establishing online courses and academic programs, provide faculty development opportunities for teaching face-to-face classes, provide support for the Blackboard learning management system and more.

Learn more about Thompson’s role on the provost’s webpage.

In other news, Senate President John Smith reported that Provost Lori Gonzalez will reassume her role as co-chair of the Shared Governance Workgroup following her service as interim university president. Smith also noted that he now serves on the university’s Legislative Advisory Committee, which reviews bills submitted to the Kentucky General Assembly which may impact the university.

Officer reports and other information from the Feb. 14, 2023, Staff Senate meeting are available on the Staff Senate’s webpage. The next Staff Senate meeting will take place Tuesday, March 14, at 2:30 p.m. on Teams. Email staffsen@louisville.edu for questions.