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Appointment of Chair of Pathology

Sept. 10, 2025

TO:              UMMC Faculty, Staff and Students

FROM:         Dr. LouAnn Woodward, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

SUBJECT:    Appointment of Chair of Pathology

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I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ericka J. Olgaard as chair of the Department of Pathology, effective on or before Feb. 1, 2026.

She will succeed Dr. Robert Brodell, who is retiring as chair.

Dr. Olgaard comes to the Medical Center from the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she was director of UF Health Pathology Laboratories, as well as clinical associate professor and vice chair for system integration in the Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine.

She earned the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine in 2008 from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri. For her post-graduate training, she completed a traditional osteopathic rotating internship, followed by the first two years of her anatomic and clinical pathology residency, at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, before transferring to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for the last two years of her residency; and a surgical pathology fellowship, with emphasis in GI and ENT pathology, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas.
Board-certified in anatomic and clinical pathology, Olgaard also served for eight years on the faculty of UAMS, first as an instructor, then as an assistant professor of anatomic and clinical pathology.

She has completed a number of professional development programs, including courses in leadership. Over the past 12 years, she served as director for various laboratories or clinical operations, as well as section director, medical director, associate chief medical quality officer, among other leadership positions, for UF Health and UAMS.

Dr. Olgaard has distinguished herself as an educator, clinician and researcher. At UAMS and the University of Florida, she earned several faculty honors and awards. In 2023, she was the recipient of the College of American Pathologists Pathology Advancement Award.

The co-author of several peer-reviewed scientific publications and abstracts, she has an extensive record of invited lectures, including at national and international meetings and conferences. She currently serves on a number of committees for various professional societies, including the College of American Pathologists, the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, and the American Society for Quality.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Olgaard to this role.

And on behalf of the entire Medical Center, I want to express my gratitude to Dr. Brodell for his 13 years of accomplished and dedicated service to UMMC. He is the founding chair of the Department of Dermatology, which he led for almost 10 years, serving simultaneously for a time as interim chair of pathology before being appointed chair of pathology three years ago. I am grateful for his willingness to take on multiple leadership roles, to the benefit of this institution.