The multiple faculty searches mentioned last month are gaining momentum. The three PharmSci search committees drafted a joint ad, which not only saves advertising dollars, but adds impact and may be very useful in attracting dual career couples. It's not often that we have the positions and resources to accommodate such couples. Considering the other positions in SAS and PPD, we have a level of flexibility and breadth for hiring that is unlikely to be reproduced any time soon. Get the word out to those excellent colleagues of yours across the disciplines!
Orly Vardeny (PPD) received a very competitive New Investigators Program grant from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP)... Wow! Jon Thorson (PharmSci) received a score of 128 (100 is best; lower is better, like golf) on his NIH grant renewal, which translated into a percentile ranking of 0.7%. Wow, again! Jon has also been quoted/featured recently in Wisconsin Week, Journal of the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State Journal, and Chemical & Engineering News, the magazine of the American Chemical Society. In the same vein, Lee Vermeulen (PPD/UWHC) was quoted on MSNBC.com (about the influence of drug company "freebies") and on Bloomberg.com (about drug safety). One measure of the impact of our work is the number of times a publication is cited by others. I'm very pleased to report that one of Jon's paper was recognized as "most cited" by Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry for the years 2003-06, and one of Richard Hsung's (PharmSci) received the same award from Tetrahedron Letters for the same time period.
Ebling Library staff, including SOP Liaison Gerri Wanserski, participated extensively at the recent midwest meeting of the Medical Library Association. Several of the posters they presented are on display at Ebling. The Madison Academic & Career Advising Association (MACAA) sent special recognition for the valuable contributions to their Executive Committee by Melanie Schneider (as co-chair) and Lynn Maki (as member). Tina Rundle's (Student Services) participation in the Service/Learning Program received special recognition (along with Connie Kraus (PPD) and Amy Zwaska (Student Services)) from the West Madison Senior Coalition.
The first Joseph Robinson Faculty Travel Awards were given out in October to Lingjun Li and Darin Furgeson (both PharmSci). In addition to support for graduate students, Joe was very clear that he would like his fund to assist young PharmSci faculty as well. Congratulations to the two recipients and thanks to Ron Burnette (PharmSci) for coordinating this new effort as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.
Speaking of Joe, the memorial resolution honoring his long career with the School will be read at the Faculty Senate meeting on Monday, Nov. 6 in room 272 Bascom Hall. The meeting starts at 3:30 and memorial resolutions are the first item of business. I'll be inviting Joe's wife, Bonna, and the family to be there; other visitors are welcome as well. Thanks very much to Glen Kwon, Ken Connors, and Darin Furgeson (all PharmSci) for crafting a fitting tribute. A copy is attached.
Dr. Cameron Scarlett joined the School in October as the new Director of the Mass Spectrometry Facility within the Analytical Instrumentation Center. Please drop by the AIC and give Cameron a warm welcome.
I know many of you think I'm a bit "over the top" concerning accountability and performance measures. I appreciate the arguments and complaints, but once again need to reinforce the nature of the current environment surrounding public higher education, not just in Wisconsin, but across the country. To wit: Attached is a summary from the WI Legislative Audit Bureau that specifically looked into reporting/utilization of sick leave and vacation days. I simply ask for a common sense approach and an honest management of your personal benefits.
The bottoms of the aisles in the two lecture halls (2002, 2006) have been characterized as "trip hazards". To avoid any possibility of injury, those areas need to be remodeled. After exhausting many possibilities, a design was selected to introduce a minimum of visual and functional changes, but be prepared for a different "look". This construction will occur over the semester break and should not interfere with any classes or exams.
You've recently received information about the 2006 State and University Employees Combined Campaign (SECC) from Tim Gossens (Business Office) who is serving as the SOP chair again this year. As most of you know, this is an annual fund raising activity to support charitable organizations throughout the community. Like last year, we will hold a drawing for an autographed item from UW Athletics, as well as hockey tickets, as a "thank you" toward the end of the semester. FYI...In the 2005 Campaign, over 39% of all SOP employees contributed to the effort with one of the highest per capita contribution amounts across campus and throughout state government. That's terrific! I'd like to get that participation rate up around 50% this year. The size of the donation doesn't matter, but let's shoot for this lofty participation goal in support of many organizations and agencies serving those less fortunate than ourselves.
My travels have included:
Arkdale, WI: The annual retreat for the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW) Board of Directors was held last month at the Northern Bay Resort in Arkdale. I'll bet I¡¯m one of the few people who knows where this is...a rare occurrence! Except, of course, for Connie Kraus and Curt Johnson (both PPD) who were also present. Good meeting and a great hailstorm.
Washington, DC: I've been asked to serve on an AACP Task Force discussing the evolution of new clinical disciplines, including what we are now calling "experimental pharmacotherapeutics,"a key piece that is largely missing from the translational sciences continuum. The Task Force was charged to discuss the educational background and on-going support people need to succeed as scientists and researchers in these disciplines. The group met last month to start to frame the issues and develop recommendations. Not coincidentally, the topic overlaps with key features of the NIH's Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA), which will support research infrastructure and training programs in an entirely new way. UW received a CTSA planning grant this year, thanks to the work of many, including Chris Sorkness (PPD), and we will be submitting a full application for the January 17, 2007 deadline. It's "all hands on deck" for this huge undertaking, requiring all the health sciences schools and everyone in them to work together to ensure success. During my trip to DC, I visited with alum Arnold Marcus (retired from Bristol-Myers-Squibb) and Ken Miller (Senior Vice President with AACP). In addition, I met Lucille Apple, widow of former faculty member of considerable repute, Bill Apple. The stories were amazing!
St. Louis: I stopped by the employment clearinghouse at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) meeting in St. Louis to support Paul Hutson and Mary Hayney with PPD faculty recruitment. (Tickets to the World Series going on at the same time didn't quite work out!) Also in attendance were Anna Legreid Dopp (ESP), John Dopp, Orly Vardeny, and Gordon Sacks (all PPD). And congratulations again go to Orly for receiving the AstraZeneca Cardiovascular Research Award from the ACCP Research Institute! While in St. Louis, I visited the St. Louis College of Pharmacy to see President Tom Patton and Professor Rasma Chereson, both alums of the SOP.
San Antonio: From there I went to San Antonio for the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) annual meeting. Mel Weinswig (ESP), Lian Yu, Mel de Villiers (both PharmSci), Lynn Van Campen, and Ed Elder (both Pharmaceutical Experiment Station) were also there representing the SOP. There were three significant awards announced at this meeting to mention: Qiang Fu is a graduate student in the Chemistry Department working with Lingjun Li (PharmSci). Qiang was selected for recognition by the Analysis and Pharmaceutical Quality group for the excellence of his research. May Xiong, a graduate student in Glen Kwon's group (PharmSci), was chosen to receive the PhRMA Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Pharmaceutics. And Dr. Marcus Forrest, a post-doc in the Kwon group, was selected for the PhRMA Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Pharmaceutics. A nice run for the Kwon group! As usual, we held a UW alumni breakfast at the AAPS meeting, which was attended by some 70 PharmSci Badgers from across the country and around the world, including incoming AAPS President, Gene Fiese.
The Graduate Student Mixer was held Friday, Oct. 20. Thanks to Linda Frei (Graduate Student Services) for making all the arrangements, to Chuck Lauhon (PharmSci) for hosting the event as Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, and to Joni Mitchell (PharmSci) and Mike Pitterle (IIT) for extra assistance. The event recognized numerous graduate students for a variety of awards, fellowships, and honors. New this year: donors responsible for the funds supporting several of these awards and fellowships were invited to the event. Lenor Zeeh, representing the Rennebohm Foundation (TA and Dissertator Awards) attended, along with a brief visit by Kato Perlman (Perlman Fellowship). Leon Lachman, Deanne Witiak, Peggy Wiederholt (student travel awards), and Thora Vevoren (Vevoren Fellowship) were not able to join us. This represented a wonderful opportunity to thank them for their generosity and commitment to the School. Too bad I arrived late to the party from DC, but thanks to everyone who attended.
In other alumni relations and development work, alums Mike and Mary Pistiner (owners of an independent pharmacy in Mequon) visited the School in Oct., as did alum John Suh (retired from Pfizer) and his wife Ruth. Thanks to Linda Halsey (Development) for giving the Suhs the grand tour of Rennebohm Hall, which they had not seen yet. They were very impressed by the grandeur and beauty of our new home and had many stories about the labs and classrooms in Chamberlain Hall that I don't need to share with most of you! I'd also like to remind everyone about the opportunity to honor Dan Rich and his incredible career by making a gift to the Daniel H. and Jane L. Rich Graduate Student Support Fund. And don't forget...all contributions received by the end of the year will be matched dollar-for-dollar, so your generosity will go twice as far.
The "save the date" list includes:
- The Pharmacy Alumni Association's alumni weekend is this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3 and 4. New this year: Mel Weinswig and Joe Robinson will both be honored with School of Pharmacy Citations at this event, second only in prestige to a University of Wisconsin Honorary Degree.
- My annual breakfast with the assistant professors is coming up on Nov. 9 at 8:00 in room 1128.
- The next Executive Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 12:00 in room 1128.
- Ribbon cutting for the new home of the Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station will occur the afternoon of Nov. 17.
- The reception for UW alumni and friends at the 2006 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) meeting in Anaheim will be held Monday evening, Dec. 4.
- Our fall Faculty/Staff Meeting will be held on Monday, Dec. 18 from 10:00-12:00 in room 2006. We'll follow that with the School's Holiday Party in the Commons to give a festive start to the holiday season.
And don't forget:
- Exercise your democracy--Get out and VOTE on Nov. 7. It's not often that the University Committee (i.e., the Executive Committee of the UW Faculty Senate) comments on specific ballot items. However, the proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage is an exception. A brief statement outlining their views of the potential impact of the amendment on the University, in particular, and the community, in general, can be found at http://www.news.wisc.edu/13068.html. The gubernatorial race is also of tremendous importance to the short- and long-term future of the University.
- Get your influenza vaccination--clinics are running daily through Nov. 17.
- Open enrollment for the Employee Reimbursement Accounts program for medical/day care expenses also runs through Nov. 17.
Also, the IIT Group now has a Macintosh laptop computer available for check-out. You can thank Darin Furgeson!
Finally, I've just passed my third anniversary as dean. As at each previous anniversary, I invite input and feedback concerning my performance, how you feel things are going, whatever you'd like to share. Thank you all for the opportunity to serve the School in this capacity. Someone will have to tell me where the time has gone...
Thanks...Jeanette