Carol Elam PhD

Dr. Carol Elam is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Science. She currently teaches two sections of Introduction to Clinical Medicine to first-year medical students. She also serves as course director for the cross-listed Race, Racism, and Health Inequities among Blacks in the U.S. elective currently offered to both medical and graduate students. In addition, Dr. Elam currently supports the development of training programs in team science for faculty and fellows through the Center for Clinical and Translational Science. She is a member of the University Appeals Board and the Department’s DEI Council. She has received the Master Teacher Award at UKCOM in Innovation, Evaluation, Educational Leadership, and Faculty Development. Holding three degrees from the University of Kentucky College of Education, Dr. Elam was awarded the Alumni Excellence Award in 2018 and was admitted to the UK College of Education Hall of Fame. In 2016, she received the Career Educator Award from the Southern Group on Educational Affairs. Having served as Associate Dean for Admissions in the College of Medicine, Dr. Elam was chair of the admissions work group for the Regional Medical School Expansion from 2016-2019. As part of that effort, she developed the statewide Early Assurance program offering preparation programs and assured admission to selected students at colleges and universities across Kentucky. Since 2016, she has served as a consultant on admissions and recruitment practices to Eastern Virginia Medical School, the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Dr. Elam is completing a five-year term on the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Group on Educational Affairs Steering Committee. She served as National Chair of that 3,500-member professional affinity group from 2018-2020. She has published 145 journal articles and two book chapters. She is a member emeritus of the Society of Directors of Research in Medical Education.