A belated Happy New Year, everyone! And welcome to the year 2007...wow.
I'm very pleased to welcome a new member to our Instructional and Information Technology (IIT) staff. Lauren Budden joined the School on January 22 and will focus in the instructional support domain. Expansion the School's IIT infrastructure is intended to increase capacity and service in support of all our academic missions. Please join me in welcoming Lauren to the SOP.
Thanks to everyone who attended the Spring Semester Kick-Off event that we decided to try in lieu of a pre-holiday party. Everyone seemed pleased with this timing. In addition to a wonderful opportunity for a social gathering, the party allowed us to recognize and thank Tom Rudy (PharmSci) for his decades of service to the School and the University as he transitions to retirement. Thanks, Tom, and congratulations!
A few notable notes: The excellent work of Lian Yu (PharmSci) and his research group on organic glasses recently resulted in a publication in the prestigious journal, Science (315:353-356, 2007) and also received coverage in the Cap Times. Eva Vivian (PPD) was highlighted during the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) meeting in Anaheim for her presentation about the dire situation concerning diabetes in children. Dave Kreling (SAS) was quoted in the Boston Globe in an article about specialty drugs and their impact on insurance premiums. Jill Kolesar (PPD) was featured in the Feb. edition of Wisconsin Woman magazine, talking about balancing a very busy personal and professional life. John Dopp (PPD) was involved in a TV-3 news story about sleep aids. The spot is set to run on Feb. 3 at 9:00 and possibly 10:00. The 9:00 broadcast will also be carried on Channel 3000 website.
Congratulations to Steve Rough (UWHC/PPD) for being elected as a new 2007-08 ASHP delegate from WI. He joins Lee Vermeulen (UWHC/PPD) who is currently a delegate as well.
Thanks very much to Eva Vivian for serving as the SOP marshall during the winter commencement ceremonies in mid-December.
My on-going thanks to the chairs, members, and support staff involved in the multiple faculty search committees that are in full swing. And to everyone who is contributing as hosts, dinner companions, interviewers, etc., etc. One position in PPD has been filled recently with more successful recruitments undoubtedly to come across the School. Keep up the great work!
Rosa Garner, Ombudsperson and Assistant Dean in the School of Medicine and Public Health, is in the process of expanding her activities to serve the faculty, staff, and students of the SOP. Stay tuned for additional information from Rosa and thanks to the Equity and Diversity Action Committee for initiating this terrific idea.
As you undoubtedly know, the state is developing its budget for the 2007-2009 biennium. Many features remain in flux, and I don't have many details to share with you at this point. Specifics about the pay plan to the UW System are unclear and will depend, in part, on the extent to which tuition will be raised, a politically sensitive issue with voters. Even though the exact numbers are unknown, I thought I'd share a couple features of our internal thinking. For the past 2 years, the Dean's Advisory Council (DAC) has endorsed the idea of setting aside 10% of the funds we receive for faculty salary increases. These dollars are then used to recognize, reward, and reequilibrate a necessarily small number of faculty. The funds resulting from the set-aside are apportioned, in addition to the "standard" raise, based on many factors, most importantly evidence of excellence, impact, performance, and productivity as assessed by the Faculty Activities Review Committee. Also considered are my assessment of features like salary compression, equity, and behaviors that align with and support the School's strategic priorities. There are many people and activities that warrant salary increases above the "standard". The funds run out before the deserving individuals do. And it does reduce the "standard" raise applied to faculty salaries by 10%. The DAC again agreed with this idea for the upcoming year. I've not applied the same thinking to the support staff for two reasons. One is that our process for annual evaluations is not yet regularized and familiar enough to be complete and reliable. Another is that staff salaries are even less adequate than faculty, so reducing the "standard" raise by any amount is not an attractive option. All these features are being worked on, and new ideas developed, to maximize resources, appropriately recognize and reward excellence in our faculty and staff, and be as meaningful as possible for continual professional development.
The remodeling of the two main lecture halls was completed to eliminate the trip hazard. Not too bad, I guess. The West Campus Utility Project (tearing up Highland Ave.) is moving along. As mentioned last time, you'll be seeing changes to the north entrance of Rennebohm Hall and to the Commons in an effort to optimally manage foot traffic through the building. As also mentioned, those of you who park in lot 85 will be relocated after graduation because the parking lot will serve as a staging area for this very large project. More info will be provided as it becomes available. One additional note¡¦the portion of Walnut St. that runs east-west along the north side of Rennebohm Hall has been renamed Marsh Dr. Hopefully this will ultimately reduce confusion, although there may be a few initial hiccups in deliveries, etc.
The discussion about WI/Milwaukee pharmacy workforce needs continues. I met with alums Tom Woller and Dennis Brierton, in charge of in-patient pharmacy services with Aurora. Additional meetings with the upper administration of Aurora Health Care, Walgreens, and UW-Milwaukee are coming soon.
Among my travels, which I frequently couple with development work: I stopped in to Palm Dessert, CA to initiate a relationship with alum Steve Nelson. From there, it was on to the ASHP meeting in Anaheim. As mentioned last time, the UWHC administrative residency program received one of the first Pharmacy Residency Excellence Awards, and dozens of former residents joined in to celebrate. We also had a terrific WI alumni gathering at ASHP. I'd estimate 200 people attended the reception¡¦faculty, students, alums, people who wish they were alums, friends and colleagues. I decided to make a quick stop in Salt Lake City on the way home to interface with the selenium and cancer chemoprevention project and work with the technology transfer office on moving forward with some University of Utah intellectual property.
There was a very interesting meeting at the NIH ("PharmD Pathways to Biomedical Research") called to explore the power that PharmD training can bring to a variety of research areas, funding availability for training programs, future funding trends for basic and clinical research, etc. It was also an opportunity for the AACP Task Force on Clinical Scientists that I sit on to meet and further refine our thinking about optimal training to fill current gaps and meet national needs in the translational research continuum. Linda Halsey (Director of Development) and I then met in New York and had a wonderful dinner with alum Leon Lachman, who provided a very generous gift to his graduate student support fund. We also had lunch with alum Jim Muren and his wife, Terri, who are important long-term benefactors and also support our Building Community Fund.
I attended the annual meeting of the deans of the research-intensive pharmacy schools in Tucson in January. Aside from getting snowed on in southern Arizona, the meeting was incredibly productive and focused on the new schools issue, progress on and angst about the CTSAs, possible changes in assessment due to pressure on ACPE from the Department of Education, federal funding trends, etc. The trip also provided an opportunity to gather Pharmacy Badgers in the area for a terrific brunch at the AZ home of Char and Gus Lemberger, Dean and Professor Emeritus. Linda Halsey, husband Dave, and I also had the opportunity to have dinner with alum Milt Henrichs and breakfast with Leona Sonderreger, former assistant to Oscar Rennebohm and long-time SOP benefactor, advisor, and friend. Milt provided a nice gift to the Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station (PES), which he has supported generously since its rebirth.
Another trip to Salt Lake City was in order to attend the PhD dissertation defense of the last graduate student I'm connected with there. And a wrap-up meeting for a book project I've been involved with for several years entitled Drugs and Justice, which is finally at the publisher.
We were especially honored in January to receive a $1M gift from alum Lenor Zeeh to bolster the endowment supporting the PES that bears his name. His generosity and commitment to the School, visible in so many ways over the years, is truly incredible. Another batch of chocolate chip cookies is definitely in order!
A new endowed scholarship was established recently at the School as well. Alum Jolene Chapp provided a generous gift to start the fund in memory of her late husband, alum Ronald Goehring.
The save the date list includes:
- The second annual breakfast with the academic staff will be held Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 8:30 - 10:00 in the Commons.
- Special Note: The next Executive Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 12:00 in room 1128. Among other business, we will be considering three promotions to full professor. One requires 11 tenured/CHS/clinical full professors to be present and the other two require 8 tenured full professors.
- I've scheduled two open forums to talk about the idea of remodeling the Commons to consolidate most of the service units of the School and provide new and different faculty and staff gathering space. All faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend to ask questions, raise concerns, and provide input and suggestions. The forums will be held on Monday, Feb. 19, 10:30 - 11:30, and Thursday, Feb. 22, 1:00- 2:00, both in room 2336.
- The annual meeting of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) will be held in Atlanta Mar. 16-20. On Saturday, Mar. 17, I'll be getting together for dinner with the PharmD students in attendance¡¦a long-standing tradition. This year, I'd like to extend an invitation to all the graduate students and faculty that will be at APhA as well. Then on Sunday, Mar. 18, we'll be hosting the UW alumni reception. Stay tuned for additional information.
The second annual Staff Recognition Event has been scheduled for Tuesday, Apr. 17, from 3:00 - 5:00 in the Commons.
I think I'll wrap it up here for this month. I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2007...Jeanette