I'll never think about Sept. 2006 without Joe Robinson's face appearing in my mind. Thanks to everyone who did so much to make his memorial service a fitting tribute to an incredible scientist and educator. Glen Kwon, Darin Furgeson, and Ken Connors (PharmSci) will be preparing a memorial resolution to the Faculty Senate honoring Joe's lifetime with the School. I'll let you know when that presentation will be made should you like to attend. Numerous scientific and professional publications will be carrying an "In Memoriam" about Joe as well.
I'll also never think about Sept. 2006 without recalling the variety and number of faculty and staff searches that were initiated this month. While a bit daunting, the opportunity these searches represents cannot be overstated...to expand our reach and scope, to add new expertise, to impact new areas in entirely new ways. Here's the list:
Faculty: Two positions in PPD, four in PharmSci, and one coming soon in SAS. Joe Bonnarens has recently accepted a position at the new Pacific University School of Pharmacy in Oregon starting next May. We wish you all the best, Joe!
Staff: One administrative assistant in SAS and one in PPD. Audrey Fish has recently accepted the position of dedicated staff support for Mara Kieser (PPD) and all aspects of the experiential education program. New duties under this umbrella will include direction of the Community Residency Program as well. The list also includes the new Director of Communications, an addition to the IIT Group, and a new member of Student Services. Pam Palmer recently accepted a position with Bonnie Svarstad (SAS) on her NIH-funded project. We will miss Pam very much in Student Services and wish her well with this new opportunity. At least she won't be far away!
Thanks to all the members of the multiple search committees, to the staff members assisting each group, and to everyone who will participate in one way or another in the important search processes.
I mentioned last month that Lynn Maki, Melanie Schneider, and Amy Zwaska (Student Services) were recognized for their participation at the NACADA Academic Advising Summer Institute. I received accolades for Emily Gilbert's contributions as well. Congratulations to our excellent advisors and all they mean to the School and our students.
To introduce the idea of remodeling the Commons area: When the Pharmaceutical Library moved across the street in summer 2004, we were left with some 9,000 square feet of empty space. We converted it to student gathering and study space, but it is vastly underutilized. I started talking with the Dean's Advisory Council and the Board of Visitors about ways to better utilize this valuable space. The idea that has bubbled up to the surface is to consolidate all the administrative service units of the School (the Dean's Office, Student Services, IIT, Research Administration, the Business Office) in this single, centrally-located region of the building. We would gain much in efficiency and have one clearly identifiable place where everyone would come for service functions. In addition, space would be dedicated to a faculty and staff gathering area, with the mailboxes, a coffee pot, meeting space, etc. to stimulate interaction and further build our sense of community. During spring semester 2006, we engaged a class of interior design students from the School of Human Ecology, led by Professor Roberto Rengel, who took on the redesign of the space as their class project. Many creative solutions were proposed in a highly professional manner...very impressive, indeed. UW architects are now working up an estimate of costs, and we'll see where things end up. I plan to hold public forums for faculty, staff, and students to allow for concerns to be expressed, questions to be answered, and new ideas to be suggested. Lots of questions remain, but I wanted you to know some of the initial thinking.
PPD faculty generate a modest amount of income each year from continuing education programming for the School of Nursing. They've decided to use some of those funds to support two pharmacy students to attend and participate in a scientific (not professional) meeting this year to broaden their horizons and introduce them to new and different possibilities. Scott Mueller and Marie Ganksi will be accompanying John Dopp and Orly Vardeny, respectively, to the American College of Clinical Pharmacy meeting in St. Louis this fall. What a great idea!
The MAD Group...Madison Area Directors of Pharmacy...met at Physician's Plus in Sept., and I also spoke at the annual meeting of the WI Hospital Association in Lake Geneva. I managed to attend only the very end of the PSW annual meeting in Milwaukee and missed the alumni luncheon, but the School was represented at the exhibit and elsewhere. Thanks to those who attended.
The scholarship awards event held on Sept. 12 was just terrific with most recipients and many donors coming together to celebrate. We topped $176,000 in scholarships (up from $140,000 last year) and another $115,000 in Advanced Opportunity Fellowships to 156 of our BS and PharmD students this year. (Soon after the event, we were able to provide an additional $12,000 in scholarship support to students with military experience thanks to alum Dave Sanders, one of the founders of the Dean's Club and a major player in the capital campaign to raise the money required to build Rennebohm Hall.) Thanks to Pam French (Student Services) for organizing another exceptional event.
In other development-related activities and news, Linda Halsey and I met with alum Dave Hamacher and his wife Marge in Milwaukee in Sept. Dave was another founder of the Dean's Club and major player in the building campaign. We also had the opportunity to meet with alum Paula Lukas in Oconomowoc who intends to establish a scholarship fund supporting returning students starting a second career. I received a few tickets in the Chancellor's Box at Camp Randall for the Western Illinois game, and I invited alums Marla Ahlgrimm, Cindy Benning, and Don Lindsay (brother Phil came instead) and their guests to join me. My husband Dave and I made a quick trip to Michigan, staying with alum Tony Sinkula and his wife Micki in Kalamazoo. Tony is retired from high level management with Upjohn and is responsible for a new initiative to recruit and support WI Native American pharmacy students, increasing educational opportunities and enhancing health care to this underserved population (see attached story from UW Foundation newsletter). Interestingly, Tony was one of my scientific heroes in graduate school, and his work is referred to repeatedly in my PhD dissertation. He didn't believe me until I showed him. His newly established fund will support pharmacy students while on clerkship on WI reservations, and he intends to couple that support to one or more full tuition scholarships for Native American students in the future. Dave and I then traveled to Ann Arbor and spent time with alums Duane Kirking (SAS faculty member at UM) and Jim Muren (retired from upper management with Pfizer) and his wife Terri. And, yes, we managed to attend the WI-MI football game at "The Big House" at the invitation of the UM Dean of Pharmacy, Frank Ascione. The football team didn't quite get it done, but our marching band was terrific. Alum Roy Kuramoto added substantially to his endowed scholarship fund last month. In addition, I'm pleased to announce the establishment of two new endowed scholarship funds, one by Marilyn Washkuhn, in memory of her husband (and alum) Richard, and another by Marty and Wayne Schwartzman, in memory of their father (and alum) Edward.
The "save the date" list includes:
- The Graduate Student Mixer was rescheduled to Friday, Oct. 20 from 5:30-7:30. New this year: Recognition of the graduate student fellowship recipients (SOP and other), travel award winners, etc., with an invitation to the donors whose philanthropy supports these awards.
- The UW breakfast at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) annual meeting in San Antonio will be held from 7-8:30am on Monday, Oct. 30.
- The Pharmacy Alumni Association's (PAA) alumni weekend is scheduled for Nov. 3 and 4. New this year: Members of the Dean's Club (annual giving of $500 and above) will be my special guests for the evening. In addition, there will be no charge for SOP faculty and staff for the Friday evening festivities. Please join us!
- A ribbon-cutting for the new home of the Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station will be held Friday, Nov. 17 at 2:00 with Mr. Zeeh himself (93 years old) and Rennebohm Foundation President Steve Skolaski (and others) in attendance.
- My annual breakfast with the assistant professors will be scheduled soon. Stay tuned for more information.
- The UW alumni reception at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) annual meeting in Anaheim will be held Monday evening, Dec. 4.
That's definitely enough for today! Thanks, all...Jeanette