Brigham Young University Academic Vice President Justin Collings has appointed Brad L. Neiger as associate academic vice president to serve as school of medicine liaison and Kendra Hall-Kenyon as associate academic vice president for faculty relations.
Both Neiger and Hall-Kenyon’s appointments are effective immediately.
In this newly created role, Neiger will help establish the BYU School of Medicine, including helping to recruit, hire and onboard the school’s founding faculty.
“I cannot think of anyone better suited than Brad Neiger to help furnish the BYU School of Medicine with a founding faculty who are superbly prepared as scientist-physicians and exactly aligned with our prophetic mission. Brad’s contributions over the past seven years to mission-aligned faculty hiring across campus have been colossal and indispensable,” Collings said. “He brings to this new role a wealth of experience, a deep understanding of and unshakable devotion to our mission, a wise and unerring judgment, and a wonderful mixture of courage and kindness, energy and compassion. He represents the very best that the university has to offer, and I am immensely grateful for his willingness to serve in this new position.”
Neiger, who has been serving as the associate academic vice president for faculty relations since 2018, will continue to be a member of the Academic Vice President’s Council.
He has also held roles as associate academic vice president for undergraduate studies, associate dean of the College of Life Sciences and chair of the department of health science.
Prior to coming to BYU, he worked for 13 years in various public health settings, including director of health promotion at both the Davis County Health Department and the Utah Department of Health. Neiger received his bachelor’s degree at BYU and his doctorate from the University of Utah.
Hall-Kenyon comes to university administration after working as the dean of the David O. McKay School of Education since January 2023. She also served as the interim dean for six months.
“Kendra Hall-Kenyon is a visionary and dynamic leader whose devotion to BYU’s mission and students is inspiring and complete,” Collings said. “She has been an exceptional dean in the McKay School of Education, where she has championed the development of spiritually strengthening learning outcomes and reinforced the tradition of nurturing teachers who will teach after the pattern of the Savior. In her new role, she will bless the entire campus with her wisdom, vision, judgment, kindness, goodness, strength. We are thrilled to welcome her to the academic vice president’s council.”
Hall-Kenyon began teaching at BYU in 2002. During her time at the university, she has received the Nancy Peery Marriott Distinguished Educator Award as an Outstanding Scholar in 2013 as well as the Young Scholar Award in 2008, which is given to faculty members who demonstrate promise and excellence in all three areas of evaluation: research, teaching and citizenship. She also served as chair of the Department of Teacher Education from 2016 to 2022.
She earned a bachelor’s in family science from BYU and both a master’s degree and doctorate degree in human development from Columbia University.
