Center for Interprofessional and Community Health Education Names New Director
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 3, 2022) – James Ballard, Ed.D., has been named director of the University of Kentucky Center for Interprofessional and Community Health Education (CICHE).
From 1998 to 2016, Ballard served as director of the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Network and CIHE associate director at UK. From 2016 to 2019, Ballard served as the executive director of the Indiana AHEC Network at Indiana University. Ballard returned to UK in 2019 to serve as Center for Interprofessional Health Education (CIHE) director.
At its December 2021 meeting, the UK Board of Trustees acted, with endorsement of the University Senate, to change the organization of CICHE. The changes made include a shift in designation from an educational unit center to an administrative unit center and a name change from CIHE to the Center for Interprofessional and Community Health Education (CICHE). More information regarding these changes can be found here.
“Dr. Ballard brings a wealth of experience in interprofessional collaboration to this appointment,” said Kathryn Cardarelli, Ph.D., senior associate provost for administration and academic affairs. “I greatly appreciate his willingness to serve as CICHE Director. Please join me in congratulating him and thanking him.”
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.