University of Jamestown names Lefebvre director, frames clinical research as county asset

University of Jamestown announced a leadership step in its clinical research effort, saying Lefebvre "has been chosen to advance these graduate programs at UJ" and framing the move as a promotion tied to the university's strategic priorities. The March 5, 2026 news item presented the selection as part of a push to expand academic offerings and research capacity.

Lefebvre joined the University of Jamestown in 2022 and served as founding Program Director of the Ph.D. in clinical research from 2022 to 2025. The news item records Lefebvre’s administrative role as Dean of Graduate Faculty Affairs from 2024 to 2025 and lists prior faculty positions: Professor of Physical Therapy at Concordia University, St. Paul from 2018 to 2022 and a faculty member at Widener University from 2005 to 2018.

The university's announcement attributes the program’s development directly to Lefebvre: "Since joining the University of Jamestown in 2022, Lefebvre has established a world-class Ph.D. program in clinical research, the only fully online clinical research Ph.D. program in the world." The same release states the program "has a retention rate well above the national average, with 15 students set to graduate in May 2026," and that "Students in the program represent multiple countries and diverse backgrounds across the United States."

The March 5 item also notes Lefebvre's involvement in other health-education initiatives at the university, saying she "has also played a key role in supporting other initiatives, including the Master of Health Science degree for pathologists’ assistants and the launch of the Health Sciences and Graduate Center in Phoenix, Arizona." Those initiatives were presented as linked to the university’s broader academic expansion.

Dr. Michelle Solensky is mentioned in connection with Lefebvre’s activities. The announcement records Solensky's recent administrative and faculty timeline: "She most recently served as Chair of the Department of Natural Science from 2024 to 2025 and was Director of the University of Jamestown Honors Program from 2017 to 2024. Solensky has been a member of the University’s biology faculty for 16 years, earning promotion to professor in 2014. She previously served as an assistant professor at the College of Wooster in Ohio from 2004 to 2009."

The university framed Lefebvre’s selection within a strategic plan rationale: "This promotion comes as part of the University’s strategic plan to expand its academic offerings and further build its reputation as a leader in higher education through increasing scholarship, research and sponsored programs for students and faculty." The March 5 news item appears as a first-person piece by Mitchell Wolde in the university’s announcement.

Looking ahead, the 15 students set to graduate in May 2026 represent the first sizable completion under the program developed since 2022, and the university’s release positions that cohort as a milestone in its stated effort to increase scholarship, research and sponsored programs for students and faculty.