Beatrice Boateng, Ph.D., a leader in program evaluation and faculty assessment and development at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), has been named assistant dean for faculty assessment and evaluation in the UAMS College of Medicine.
“Dr. Boateng brings incredible expertise to her new role,” said Erick Messias, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., associate dean for faculty affairs in the college. “Our faculty and departments will benefit substantially from her experience as a leader in evaluation and assessment in the Department of Pediatrics and the UAMS Translational Research Institute.”
Boateng, an associate professor of pediatrics, has been approved for promotion to full professor on July 1 by the college leadership. She served as director of the Office of Education and director of faculty development in the Department of Pediatrics from January 2011 to October 2019. Among many accomplishments, Boateng developed and implemented an online faculty evaluation system for the department, the college’s largest with over 200 full-time faculty members. She is a three-time winner of the department’s Educator of the Year award.
Boateng will continue to serve as director of evaluation in the UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI), a post she has held since 2014. Supported by a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, TRI uses multiple approaches to accelerate research that improves health and health care. As the evaluation director, Boateng uses qualitative and quantitative methods to assess program processes and provide feedback to TRI leadership.
In her new role as an assistant dean, Boateng’s initial focus will be to implement an online database and evaluation system for approximately 1,500 faculty members throughout the college, Messias said.
“The system, which will be fully implemented by fall 2020, will allow for better tracking and a far more streamlined process,” he said. “We hope faculty members and leaders will be able to spend more time having developmental conversations rather than having to deal with paperwork.” Messias also noted that the initiative will result in a substantial, environmentally-friendly reduction in paper usage.
Boateng received her master’s degree in international affairs and a doctorate in instructional technology from Ohio University. She joined UAMS in 2007 as an assistant professor in the UAMS Office of Educational Development. She moved to the Department of Pediatrics in 2009 and was promoted to associate professor in 2013.
Boateng has received a number of campus honors in addition to departmental awards, including the UAMS Educational Technology Excellence Award in 2013 and the UAMS Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award in 2017. She is active in national professional groups including the Association of Clinical and Translational Science Special Interest Group for CTSA Evaluators, and the American Evaluation Association Translational Research Evaluation Topical Interest Group Program Committee.