Michael Anders, PhD, MPH, Director (CV)
Dr. Anders is an Associate Professor of Assessment and Evaluation in Academic Affairs and serves as the Director of the UAMS Teaching Scholars program. Teaching Scholars is a longitudinal faculty development program to plan, evaluate, and disseminate innovative educational practices to enhance learning. In his role as Director of Teaching Scholars, Dr. Anders serves as a mentor, collaborator, and facilitator for faculty. His additional roles include serving as the Program Evaluator on two National Institutes for Health grants: the Summer Undergraduate Research Program and the Research Education: Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program, Both grants support biomedical research career development for underserved students.
Angel Holland, PT, DPT, EdD, CHP Mentor (CV)
Dr. Holland is an Associate Professor and the Chair and Program Director of the Physical Therapy Department in the UAMS College of Health Professions. She is a Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy, Certified in Documentation Auditing, and Certified Interprofessional Education Facilitator. Her teaching interests include healthcare administration, professionalism, documentation and clinical reasoning. Her research interests include generational learning styles and teaching strategies, interprofessional learning activities, and faculty development to enhance student success. In the College of Health Professions Teaching Scholars program, Dr. Holland is the lead facilitator for workshops focused on conceptual frameworks, survey design, and qualitative research.
Samuel R. Atcherson, PhD, CCC-A, FNAP
Dr. Atcherson is Professor with tenure in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology in the College of Health Professions and holds a secondary appointment as Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery in the College of Medicine. He holds certifications in tinnitus management (CH-TM) and vestibular assessment and management (AIB-VRC), and a certified coach for the A Matter of Balance (AMOB) program. As an audiology clinician-scholar and a person with lifelong hearing loss from childhood, his teaching, research, and clinical areas of interest and expertise include broad strokes across auditory and vestibular assessment and rehabilitation, health literacy, health disparities (particularly deaf and hard-of-hearing), and use of the AI in teaching and learning. He is a recipient of the 2011 CHP Excellence in Teaching Award and is the three-time winner of the CHP Excellence in Scholarship Award. He is a Distinguished Scholar Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, and actively mentors students and junior faculty in scholarship. In the CHP Teaching Scholars program, Dr. Atcherson will serve as a workshop co-facilitator and mentor.
Karen J. Dickinson, MBBS, MD, BSc, MEd,
CHSE-A, FRCS
Dr. Dickinson is Assistant Professor of Surgery and the Director of IPE Simulation and Clinical Skills Training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR. She is also the Surgical Director of the American College of Surgeons-Accredited Educational Institute (ACSAEI) UAMS Centers for simulation Education and Co-Medical Director for the same. She completed her surgical training in both the UK and US and has completed a General Thoracic Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. Subsequently she completed an ACSAEI accredited Surgical Simulation Fellowship at the Houston Methodist Institute for Technology Innovation and Education. She matriculated with Honors from the University of Houston with a Masters in Education. She is an active interprofessional mentor including within the UAMS mentoring program and that of the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative. Her research interests include interprofessional simulation education, patient education and virtual learning, and she co-leads a interprofessional writing group working on educational research projects. She serves on the Research Committee for the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and is a Certified Simulation Healthcare Educator-Advanced. For Teaching Scholars, Dr. Dickinson will serve as a Workshop facilitator and Writing Support Group member.
Wendy L. Ward, PhD, ABPP
Dr. Ward is a Professor with tenure at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine. She is also an APA Fellow with 30 years of professional experience. Dr. Ward serves in two institution-level positions (across 13 campuses and five colleges and the Graduate School at UAMS) as the Associate Provost for Faculty and Director of Interprofessional Faculty Development. Her career began in collaborative, team-based care initially with obese youth, leading to her overseeing a program integrating psychology services into 38 subspecialty clinics at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She later developed and/or supported a variety of faculty affairs/development programs at the departmental, college, and now institutional level including recruitment, onboarding, faculty development, mentoring, promotion, professional wellness, leadership development, retirement transitioning, and emeriti engagement. Her research interests are in the following areas: faculty development, faculty affairs, professional wellness, integrated behavioral health, executive coaching, interprofessional education, pediatric obesity, and pediatric sleep disorders. Dr. Ward will serve as a member of the Teaching Scholars Writing Support Group, and she will also be available to help faculty participants in a variety of ways.
Scott Wright, EdD, MEd, BS
Dr. Scott Wright is an Assistant Professor of Instructional Design and the Quality Matters (QM) Coordinator at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). With over a decade of experience in instructional design, faculty development, and educational technology, he specializes in online course quality, innovative teaching strategies, and AI-enhanced learning. As the QM Coordinator, Dr. Wright serves as the institution’s expert on implementing Quality Matters standards, overseeing faculty training, course reviews, and instructional best practices to enhance online learning in healthcare education.
Dr. Wright collaborates with faculty across multiple colleges, conducting needs assessments and designing engaging, evidence-based learning experiences. He leads workshops on AI integration, Blackboard Ultra tools, and instructional best practices, equipping educators with strategies to improve student engagement. His expertise spans multimedia learning materials, curriculum development, and accessibility compliance.
His research focuses on digital learning, social presence in online education, and instructional design supported by AI. He has presented at both national and local conferences, contributed to peer-reviewed publications, and delivered Grand Rounds lectures on instructional design and AI-driven case study development. Dedicated to advancing online learning and faculty development, Dr. Wright continues to support excellence in healthcare education at UAMS.
Josiah Wheeler, MEd
Josiah Wheeler is an Assistant Professor of Instructional Design in the Office of Educational Development at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He has over a decade of experience in education and learning design. His teaching interests include face-to-face instruction, artificial intelligence in education, accessibility in teaching, and Universal Design for Learning. His research interests include active learning techniques, e-learning, artificial intelligence & learning outcomes, online learner engagement, curriculum & instruction, and quality assurance in education.