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College of Health Sciences Announces First Cohort of Leavell Endowed Faculty Fellows

Last Updated on January 14, 2019 at 12:00 AM

Originally published January 14, 2019

By UC Staff

UTEP Communications

The UTEP College of Health Sciences has announced the inaugural cohort of the Charles H. and Shirley T. Leavell Endowed Chair Faculty Fellowships for five high-impact educational and research practice areas: interprofessional education, community engagement, scholarship of teaching and learning, applied and translational research (ATR), and global engagement.

Leavell Endowed Faculty Fellows: From left, Dahlia Castillo, OTD, Celia Pechak, Ph.D., Carolina Valencia, Ph.D., Alvaro Gurovich, Ph.D., College of Health Sciences Dean Shafik Dharamsi and Maria Duarte, Ph.D. Photo courtesy of the College of Health Sciences.
Leavell Endowed Faculty Fellows: From left, Dahlia Castillo, OTD, Celia Pechak, Ph.D., Carolina Valencia, Ph.D., Alvaro Gurovich, Ph.D., College of Health Sciences Dean Shafik Dharamsi and Maria Duarte, Ph.D. Photo courtesy of the College of Health Sciences.

The fellowship recipients are expected to advance initiatives within the college that are congruent with the goals outlined in the new College of Health Sciences Strategic Plan. 

The recipients of the fellowships were selected based on a competitive process and comprise outstanding faculty from the college’s public health, physical therapy, occupational therapy and rehabilitation sciences programs.

Faculty for the inaugural class include: 

  • Faculty Fellow in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Carolina Valencia, Ph.D., Bachelor of Rehabilitation Sciences director.
  • Faculty Fellow in Community Engagement: Dahlia Castillo, OTD, Master of Occupational Therapy co-director and clinical assistant professor.
  • Faculty Fellow in Interprofessional Education: Celia Pechak, Ph.D., Doctor of Physical Therapy associate professor. 
  • Faculty Fellow in Applied and Translational Research: Alvaro Gurovich, Ph.D., Doctor of Physical Therapy associate director and associate professor. 
  • Faculty Fellow in Global Engagement: Maria Duarte, Ph.D., Department of Public Health Sciences chair.

The fellowships aim to elevate faculty capacity and expertise with opportunities for professional growth in mentoring and leadership development. Fellows will promote high-impact, evidence-based educational and research practices that incorporate UTEP Edge principles, which will benefit students across health sciences disciplines.  

Grant funding will be provided from the Charles H. and Shirley T. Leavell Endowed Chair in Health Sciences held by College of Health Sciences Dean Shafik Dharamsi, Ph.D. Fellows will mentor both faculty and students, and present original research at state and national meetings in their area of expertise. They also will demonstrate scholarly productivity in the form of publications and grant submissions targeting expansion and sustainability of their work.

Beginning in spring 2019, fellows will initiate Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that will provide seed funding for scholarly work by other health sciences faculty members in the fellowship’s five areas.