Welcome Message
The Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) is committed to supporting faculty career development and advancement throughout the professional life cycle while promoting the needs of the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) administration in accordance with the SOM’s Mission. The OFA oversees the functions of faculty recruitment, orientation, development, and promotions.
Under the guidance of the founding Dean, the OFA recruits diverse faculty members who will operate within the UIWSOM framework of lifelong learning through collaborative scholarship, innovative educational excellence and learner-centered curricula. All new faculty receive orientation to and training in the SOM’s case-based, learner-centered curricular model, its guiding principles, and curriculum delivery methods. The OFA monitors faculty satisfaction and mission-alignment; facilitates access to training and compliance requirements; and, assists in faculty grievance issues, as set forth in the Faculty Handbook. The OFA coordinates and supervises the UIWSOM Faculty Development Program which facilitates evidence-informed and experiential learning for faculty through a longitudinal, relevant, and holistic approach. The team-based, inter-disciplinary Faculty Mentorship Program helps faculty achieve professional excellence and satisfaction as a program integrated into the overarching Faculty Development Program. Both programs enhance institutional vitality in support of enhanced student learning outcomes. The faculty promotions process is coordinated by the OFA in conjunction with the UIWSOM Promotions Committee.
We encourage you to explore the resources we offer through the information and links on this webpage. You may contact the OFA at officeoffacultyaffairs@uiwtx.edu or access contact information for individual members of our team here.
Introducing Vital Voices, a new podcast from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation
The Macy Foundation is excited to announce the launch of our new podcast, Vital Voices!
The podcast is a follow up to our webinar series “Taking Action on Harmful Bias and Discrimination in Clinical Learning Environments.” In each episode, Macy Foundation President, Holly J. Humphrey will be joined by guest experts to discuss issues related to bias and discrimination in clinical learning environments.
Episodes will be posted every other Monday and our preview episode is available for download wherever you get your podcasts and on our website.
Focus on Faculty: Spring, 2022- Dr. Roberto Fajardo
Dr. Fajardo is the 2022 recipient of the Mission Continues Mother Columkille Colbert Faculty Award for Service. The “Mission Continues” Faculty Awards Program is a series of five annual awards. The awards are named for Sisters who represent the congregational heritage of living the Mission values through teaching, scholarship, and community service. The awards recognize faculty for their commitment to promoting the Mission and supporting the ministry of the University of the Incarnate Word in an outstanding manner. Dr. Fajardo was nominated and selected based on his dedication to embracing a global perspective and emphasizing social justice.
In the past few years alone, Dr. Fajardo and a team has (1) designed, developed, and implemented UIWSOM’s inaugural free orthopedic entitled Amigos En Medicina, (2) served children and families in need through Healing the Children’s medical mission to Neiva, Colombia (free surgeries for children with cleft palate/lip, club foot and congenital hip dysplasia, and a variety of plastic surgeries); his father founded this mission 27 years ago and after his passing, due to COVID-19 complications, Dr. Fajardo has devoted himself to continuing the annual clinical mission with the hope of passing the torch to others in the future, (3) proposed an international nursing exchange program between UIW and La Universidad Surcolombiana; he is collaborating with the Institute of the Americas on this endeavor, (4) for the past 5 years, he has encouraged medical students at UIWSOM and UT Health San Antonio to gather stuffed animals so they may be shipped to children in need in Neiva, Colombia as well as other local organizations who support and advocate for children in need, and (5) continuously holds fundraising events throughout the year for various charitable organizations to educate and empower our future physicians on the importance of giving back to those in need. Dr. Fajardo is also actively involved in clinical research with collaborators around the City of San Antonio with the hope of creating initiatives that will improve overall health in the community and in doing so, will begin to minimize health disparities one community at a time.