University of Kentucky Senior Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Affairs Kathryn M. Cardarelli sent the following email to UK faculty on Tuesday, June 21, 2022: 

Dear Colleagues, 

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Isabel Escobar as Chellgren Chair and Director of the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence.

Dr. Escobar’s appointment takes effect July 1, 2022. 

I am appointing Dr. Escobar to this critical post after an internal search process, which included the work of a search committee chaired by Sue Roberts. I thank the committee for their vital contributions to this search process. 

Dr. Escobar has been a University of Kentucky faculty member since 2015. She has served in numerous administrative leadership roles during this time period, including Co-Director of the College of Engineering Undergraduate Research Scholars Program and Associate Director of the Center of Membrane Sciences. During her career, she has served as research advisor for 62 undergraduate students, 31 of those at UK. In addition, she currently serves as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on multiple grants from the National Science Foundation.

Prior to her time at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Escobar was a faculty member at the University of Toledo and served as Associate Dean for Research Development and Outreach for their College of Engineering.

I greatly appreciate Dr. Escobar’s willingness to serve as Chellgren Chair and Director of the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence. Please join me in congratulating her and thanking her.

Kathryn M. Cardarelli, PhD Senior Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Affairs