Faculty Affairs Update July 2026

Volume 14, Number 5

The official newsletter of the IUSD Office of Faculty Affairs

July 2026

Faculty News

Congratulations to Dr. Chandni Batra, who has been selected to participate in the American Academy of Periodontology’s LEAD program in September 2026. The LEAD Program is an exclusive two-day program designed to identify future leaders in periodontics, cultivate the necessary skills to ensure success, and inspire a commitment to advance the profession. Topics to be covered at the LEAD Program include opportunities within organized dentistry; clinical, practice, and scientific leadership; effective community outreach; and professional relationship development. This year’s program is scheduled for September 25-27, 2026, in Chicago.

Congratulations are also extended to Dr. Halide Namli, who has been selected as the recipient of 2026–27 ADEA/Gillette Hayden Memorial Foundation Tuition Scholarship for Early Career Professional Development. This scholarship provides full waiver of tuition for the ADEA Emerging Leaders Program which will be held in July 2026 in Washington DC. The 2026–27 ADEA Emerging Leaders Program is designed to provide early-career faculty showing great promise as potential leaders the guidance, insight and skills needed to build an academic career. During the meeting, fellows will engage with senior leaders in dental education and work in peer groups to discuss leadership development and other essential subjects in academic dentistry. Following the meeting, fellows will interact with their peer groups and advisors throughout the year as they develop research projects that highlight emerging trends and initiatives within academic dentistry, the profession as a whole and at ADEA member institutions specifically. The year-long program culminates with peer group presentations of their research findings during a dedicated session at the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.

As described in a post from the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis’ Facebook post, Dr. Vinicius Dutra is currently attending the Kelley School of Business together with his son, Davi. IUSD also shared this post on the school’s Facebook page. We celebrate the dedication to furthering education.

Faculty Promotions

It is a pleasure to recognize our IUSD colleagues who received promotion during the 2025–2026 promotion and tenure cycle. This process began nearly one year ago with the submission of their dossiers and included multiple levels of review, including external reviews, four levels of review at the school level, and review by the IU Indianapolis Promotion and Tenure Committee. Following completion of these review processes and confirmation by the IU Board of Trustees, candidates received notification of their promotion from President Whitten. The promotion and/or the award of tenure is earned through significant achievement and accomplishment that brings distinction to the individual, school, campus and university. These individuals not only receive public recognition but also a monetary award for their achievement.

The following candidates were successful in their application for promotion. Faculty promotions to the next rank became effective July 1, 2026.

	Dr. Armando Soto, associate professor, department of Dental Public Health and Dental Informatics, was promoted to the rank of professor on the basis of excellence in service. Dr. Soto has since retired from his full-time position and is now working at IUSD as an adjunct professor in the same department.
	Dr. Yasuyoshi Ueki, associate professor, department of Biomedical and Applied Sciences, was promoted to the rank of professor on the basis of excellence in research.
	Dr. Oriana Capin, clinical assistant professor in the department of Comprehensive Care and Allied Professions, was promoted to clinical associate professor on the basis of excellence in teaching.
	Prof. Abrielle Lamphere, clinical assistant professor in department of Comprehensive Care and Allied Professions, division of Allied Dental Education Programs – Dental Hygiene, at the IUSD Fort Wayne campus, was promoted to clinical associate professor on the basis of excellence in teaching.
	Dr. Pamela Linder, clinical assistant professor, department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Hospital Dentistry, was promoted to clinical associate professor on the basis of a balanced case.
	Dr. Priya Thomas, clinical assistant professor in the department of Comprehensive Care and Allied Professions, was promoted to clinical associate professor on the basis of a balanced case.
	Dr. Chao-Chieh Yang, clinical assistant professor in the department of Prosthodontics, was promoted to clinical associate professor on the basis of excellence in teaching.

2026 IU Indy New Faculty Welcome

If you are a faculty member that was hired after fall 2025, you are invited to attend the IU Indianapolis 2026 New Faculty Welcome event. During this event, you will:

• Meet university leaders and fellow new faculty
• Learn about key offices and support services across campus
• Discover opportunities for collaboration and professional development
• Gain insights into IU’s mission, culture, and strategic priorities

This will be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, at the IU Indianapolis University Library. Register by August 7 to attend.

Register Now

Faculty and Staff Mentoring Dialogues

You are invited to attend the Faculty and Staff Mentoring Dialogues, which will take place August 12-13, 2026, from 12:00—4:00 pm at University Library room 1116. Facilitators for this will be Keith Avin and Randall Roper.

The IU Indy Graduate Mentoring Center offers this Mentoring Dialogues for our Faculty and staff, from the curriculum provided by CIMER covering essential mentoring competencies focused on strengthening mentoring. Participating and completing these training sessions aid in articulating Your Mentoring Action Plan. Training and discussion modules covered in these dialogues were developed by the National Research Mentoring Network (https://nrmnet.net). These dialogues are designed to help faculty and staff strengthen their mentoring of students through discussion and sharing of best practices. Faculty and staff of all ranks with a desire to improve mentoring individually and across campus are encouraged to participate. 

Register Now

2026 Assessment Institute

The 2026 Assessment Institute in Indianapolis will be held Sunday, October 18, 2026, through Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. The Assessment Institute is the oldest and largest higher education event in the United States focused on assessment and improvement. It is designed to provide opportunities for:

• individuals and campus teams new to higher education assessment and improvement to acquire fundamental knowledge about the field;
• individuals who have worked as leaders in assessment and improvement to share and extend their knowledge and skills; and
• those interested in assessment and improvement at any level or in any collegiate context to establish networks that serve as sources of support and expertise beyond the dates of the Institute.

The Institute will begin with a selection of optional Pre-Institute workshops on Sunday, October 18. You may sign up and pay for any of the Pre-Institute Workshops when completing the on-line registration form. Fees for workshops are in addition to Institute registration fees. The Institute will continue on Monday, October 19 with the Rise-and-Shine 20-minute sessions and a plenary speaker session featuring Nasser Paydar, former IUPUI Chancellor and the current President of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This will be followed by thematic keynotes and concurrent sessions. The conference will end at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, October 20. For a full list of speakers and panelists, please visit https://assessmentinstitute.indianapolis.iu.edu/program/featured.html.

The Institute will feature thematic keynote sessions that will focus on Engaged Learning, Innovative Instruction, Leading Improvements, Strategic Directions, and Student Success.  To view the schedule, visit https://assessmentinstitute.indianapolis.iu.edu/program/schedule.html.  

Early registration closes on July 15, 2026, with a price of $395/person. The regular registration fee is $445/person. On October 26 the onsite registration fees go into effect, which is $475/person. For more information on the Assessment Institute, rates, how to register, and hotel reservations, please consult the Institute’s website.