Steven Kniffley Jr., PsyD

Senior Associate Dean

Steven Kniffley Jr., PsyD, became Senior Associate Dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience on May 8, 2023. Previously, he served as chief diversity officer at Spalding University in Louisville and as an associate professor at its School of Professional Psychology.

A native of Louisville, Dr. Kniffley completed doctoral and master’s degrees in clinical psychology at Spalding University, where he was selected as Spalding’s first American Psychological Association Minority Fellow. He also completed a master’s degree in public administration at Wright State University. Dr. Kniffley was a postdoctoral psychology fellow at Cambridge Health Alliance at Harvard Medical School and is board certified in clinical psychology. He has written numerous books, chapters and articles on Black male mental health, Black males and the criminal justice system, and academic achievement. He is a frequent public speaker at seminars and training workshops on these issues.

A member of the Dean’s Cabinet, Dr. Kniffley is a child, adolescent and family psychologist specializing in working with Black male youth by providing spaces of evidence-informed and culturally humble healing for racial trauma, anger and aggression, and racialized masculinity exploration and development. He also conducts research into youth racial trauma, with a focus of developing clinical interventions and assessments for the treatment of racial trauma in Black, Indigenous and people of color youth.

Bi Awosika, MD

Assistant Dean

Bi Awosika, MD, associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, became assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion with a focus on medical education, on March 18, 2023. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology at Stanford University and matriculated at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine, earning her Doctor of Medicine. Dr. Awosika pursued her residency training in Internal Medicine at Boston University Medical Center, where she was asked to serve as Chief Medical Resident. She was on faculty at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital serving as an Academic Hospitalist in the Department of Medicine for a few years prior to coming to Cincinnati.

A member of the college’s faculty since 2016 and a hospitalist at UC Medical Center, Dr. Awosika helped form the Implicit Bias Improvement Group in 2019, which has since transformed into the Medical Community Advocates for Representation, Equity and Social Justice (MedCARES). She is the faculty champion of MedCARES, which works toward improvement in recruitment practices within the Internal Medicine Residency Program as well as explore educational opportunities that embrace diversity and inclusion. She also is chair of the Resident Clinical Competency Committee, serves as an advisor to the Resident Diversity Leadership Program and is an advisor to under-represented minority third- and fourth-year medical students. Dr. Awosika previously served as the faculty advisor for the Minority Housestaff Association.

In 2021, Dr. Awosika was selected as one of the National Minority Quality Forum Forty Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health to represent the next generation of thought leaders in reducing health disparities and serve as role models. At the College of Medicine, she has received the Richard Vilter Award in the Department of Internal Medicine and was a 2021 recipient of the college’s Excellence in Mentoring Award.

Swati Pandya, MD

Dr. Swati Pandya joined the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine family in August 2016 as a medical education learning specialist.   She provides learning and study strategies for academic success as well supplemental based instruction in the basic and clinical sciences.  In this position, she also facilitates test-taking and learning strategies for USMLE Step 1, 2CK, and 3.

Dr. Pandya worked in medical education consultation prior to joining University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, conducting workshops and courses at University of Arkansas Medical School, Little Rock, St. Louis University School of Medicine, and Yale School of Medicine.  She also has worked in clinical neurophysiology and on various clinical research projects for patient education and literacy. 

Dr. Pandya obtained her Bachelors of Science Degree from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT and her medical degree from Luton, England.

Keisha Easley

Program Manager

Keisha Easley joined the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine family in February 2021 as the program coordinator for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is currently the program manager. She manages the department’s communications, student group budgets and events and serves as a liaison for students and Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion faculty.

Keisha graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Northern Kentucky University in 2010 and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Mount St. Joseph University in 2018.