Katherine Kelley named chair of AACP Council of Faculties

When Katherine Kelley, PhD, associate dean for assessment at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, joined the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), she was a staff member who didn’t feel like she belonged in the existing membership categories: Council of Deans and Council of Faculties. As such, she joined the affinity groups that were focused on special interest areas aligned with her career goals. 

“I joined the assessment special interest group (SIG) because that’s where the people were doing the work that I wanted to do,” Dr. Kelley said. “By virtue of that, I got involved in different aspects of leading within those smaller areas of the organization.”  

Dr. Kelley became the chair of the assessment SIG and served on the Institutional Research Assessment Committee, which works on assessment projects for the association. She also completed an AACP leadership program called Academic Leadership Fellows.  

Because of her involvement in these activities, in addition to her collaboration with the Big Ten Academic Alliance, her peers recommended she take a more active role in the Council of Facilities. In 2019, Dr. Kelley became the first member-at-large before being asked to run for the chair position.  

The timing for running for chair was far from ideal. The college was onboarding a new dean, conducting a self-study and implementing a new strategic plan—all during the term. Moreover, the role of chair of the Council of Faculties is a significant responsibility. Despite these challenges, Dr. Kelley saw compelling reasons to pursue the role. 

“I had been looking at the makeup of the AACP board and didn’t see a lot of large research schools like us represented,” Dr. Kelley said. “I wanted people from all types of schools to value leadership within the organization and put their name forth to run for office. So, when the opportunity to run fell in my lap, I had to say yes.” 

As chair of the Council of Faculties, Dr. Kelley is responsible for creating programming that benefits faculty, overseeing committees that can tackle initiatives for the group and leading a teachers’ seminar.  

Dr. Kelley remains dedicated to fostering connections within the organization and creating a welcoming atmosphere for all, including staff, in the Council of Faculties. The task force focused on inclusivity at AACP has made significant progress in assessing the climate and providing recommendations. 

“We rely so heavily on staff in the work that we do,” Dr. Kelley explained. “We’ve had to become so specialized, whether it’s in student support, technology or outreach. If we make conferences more accessible and welcoming to them, I think it will benefit all of us.”  

Dr. Kelley is also supporting a special committee that is creating a toolkit to standardize the science content of the PharmD curriculum for student pharmacists. Her time as chair will culminate with a teaching seminar that the Council of Facilities is planning for later in 2025.  

“I’m really excited about our theme, ‘Back to basics,’” Dr. Kelley said. “It will not only ground new faculty but focus those of us who’ve been teaching for a while on the latest information on topics we need to know.”