Alice L. Walton School of Medicine Announces New Leadership Team Members
October 18, 2024
Bentonville, Ark. (October 18, 2024) – Alice L. Walton School of Medicine has announced the hiring of three new leadership positions, Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi, PhD – Assistant Dean of Research Education, Chris Candler, MD, EdD – Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development, and James Dockery, JD, LLM – Chief Compliance Officer.
Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi, PhD – Assistant Dean of Research Education
Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi is Assistant Dean of Research Education. In her role, she leads the development and implementation of research education curriculum, supervises student research projects, and fosters innovation in research methodologies among medical students.
Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi previously held multiple leadership roles at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) in Los Angeles, California. She served as the Vice Chair of the Institutional Review Board, Director of Faculty Development, Director of Research Education, and Co-Chair for Research in the Psychiatry Department. She also led as the Course Director of the Foundation of Research Longitudinal program. In addition to her extensive responsibilities at CDU, Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi has enriched her academic and mentoring reach as an adjunct professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi completed her bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD in medical sociology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her scholarly work delves into the social aspects of physical and mental health, health services utilization, and well-being, with a strong focus on community-based research and health disparities.
Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi is a prolific scholar with over 170 peer-reviewed publications to her credit. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the BioSocial Health Journal and is an Associate Editor for Health Promotion Perspective and the Journal of Injury and Violence Research. Additionally, she is a member of the editorial boards for the International Journal of Collaborative Research on Internal Medicine & Public Health, BioMed Research International: Emergency Medicine, and PLOS ONE.
Dr. Bazargan-Hejazi’s dedication to medical research education has been recognized with numerous accolades, most notably the Most Dedicated Faculty Award and the Outstanding Research Faculty of the Year Award at CDU.
Read Dr. Bazargan Hejazi’s full bio.
Chris Candler, MD, EdD – Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development
Beginning Nov. 18, Dr. Candler will serve as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development. In this role, he will oversee all operations related to the management, development, recruitment, governance, and well-being of faculty.
Most recently, Dr. Candler was Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, where he oversaw all aspects of the MD and PA educational programs including admissions, student affairs, curriculum, evaluation, and accreditation. During his 28 years of experience in medical education, he has served in a variety of leadership and administrative roles and is an active member of the national medical education community.
Dr. Candler obtained his BS in biochemistry from Oklahoma State University, his MD from the University of Oklahoma, and his doctorate in higher education from the University of Arkansas.
Dr. Candler has received over $1 million dollars of funding from national granting agencies for his work in medical education. He has authored more than 40 education publications in books and refereed journals on a variety of medical education topics. He has served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Association of American Medical College’s MedEdPORTAL journal and as a Field Secretary for the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
Dr. Candler’s achievements have been recognized through a David L. Boren Professorship and awards from the University of Oklahoma Regents and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
James Dockery, JD, LLM – Chief Compliance Officer
Dockery is Chief Compliance Officer and in this role, he is responsible for the development, implementation, and management of effective compliance, privacy, and Title IX programs for the School.
Prior to joining the School, Dockery held several key positions with the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) including the Director of Accessibility and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion lead. In 2020, he was selected to represent USAA on a three-year rotation assignment as a CEO Action for Racial Equality Fellow. He previously served as Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity & Compliance at the University of Texas at Dallas, Interim Chief Human Resources Officer at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, Associate General Counsel for Walmart Inc., and Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources at North Carolina Central University (NCCU).
During his 23-year tenure as a member of the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, Dockery served as a Staff Judge Advocate, a prosecutor, defense attorney, and an instructor at the Air Force Judge Advocate General School. He received numerous awards and decorations including three meritorious service medals, two Air Force Commendation Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Outstanding Unit Award, The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Air Force Achievement Medal.
Dockery earned his bachelor’s at NCCU, his juris doctorate at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his LLM in Privacy and Cybersecurity at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Dockery received the Presidential Citation for Leadership Award from the State Bar of Texas. As a member of the American Bar Association, he has held presidential appointments on several councils and committees, including the Council on Racial and Ethnic Justice and the Standing Committee on Law and National Security. He currently serves on the board of Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Arkansas and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
About Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
Founded in 2021, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) is a nonprofit, four-year MD program that will enhance traditional medical education with the arts, humanities, and whole health principles. The School’s culture embraces self-care to empower students to care for their own well-being as well as their patients’. The School’s state-of-the-art medical education facility is under construction in Bentonville, Arkansas near Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Heartland Whole Health Institute. The School is seeking programmatic and institutional accreditation with the goal of welcoming its inaugural class in 2025.