Clancy named new Clinical Leadership and Management Program Director
By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director
Dr. Karen Clancy, PhD, MBA, BHS, has been named the College of Health Sciences’ new Clinical Leadership and Management Program Director, after UK’s Board of Trustees met and approved the appointment last month.
Dr. Clancy will take over for Sarah Kercsmar, PhD, MHA, who became Chair of the Department of Health and Clinical Sciences.
“It’s an honor to support the College of Health Sciences as Director of the Clinical Leadership and Management program,” Dr. Clancy said. “We have worked hard to design a curriculum that prepares students for one of the fastest growing jobs in the country. Our students are competitive candidates for top graduate schools and also in the workplace. I’m looking forward to the future!”
Dr. Clancy is an experienced healthcare leader and educator. She has served in roles like: Associate Director of the University of Kentucky University Health Service, Administrator of the UK HealthCare Lucille Parker Markey Cancer Center, UK HealthCare Patient Experience Manager, Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration for the UK College of Pharmacy, and Director of Consulting & the Center of Learning at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital.
Linking education to practice, Dr. Clancy brings her experience and professional network into the classroom as an assistant professor at the UK College of Health Sciences in the Department of Health and Clinical Sciences. Clancy has also held teaching appointments at Eastern Kentucky University, Midway University, and the UK College of Public Health.
Dr. Clancy earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Kentucky’s College of Education, completing her dissertation, Women in White: A Retrospective Look at Medical Education at One School in Kentucky Before Title IX. She earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Morehead State University, a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Health Care Administration from the University of Kentucky, College of Health Sciences, and an Associate Degree in Medical Laboratory Science from Somerset Community College.
Her awards have included the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences Hall of Fame Alumni Award, the American College Health Association Affiliate New Professional Award, and the Howard Bost Student Most Likely to Succeed Award. For her scholarship, she received a research award from the Arvie and Ellen Turner Research Fund and an oral history research grant from the Kentucky Historical Society.
“Dr. Clancy has a wealth of experience inside and outside academia that will help our CLM program — and our College — in many ways,” said Scott Lephart, PhD and Dean of the College of Health Sciences. “We are so fortunate to be able to have someone of her expertise taking on this role. I know she is excited and ready to take this next step, and we’re excited for her. This is another example of the great people who help us in our goal to continue to care for the people of the Commonwealth and beyond.”