On the Save the Date list this month:
- Town hall meetings to discuss features of the developing Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery have been scheduled for October 1, 8, and 10. See http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu to register.
- The next Executive Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 9 at 12:00 in room 1128. 12 members and 9 advisory members must be present to constitute a quorum for regular business.
- Plan now to join us for the 2007 Alumni Weekend on November 9 and 10. A terrific reception and awards ceremony for SOP Citations and the Alumni of the Year Award is held on Friday evening in the Commons, followed on Saturday by tailgating at Union South and the football game versus Michigan. Among the citation winners this year is our very own Judy Thompson (PharmSci/PPD emerita). Similar to last year, SOP faculty and staff are welcome and encouraged to attend the Friday event at no cost, but you do have to RSVP. Dean's Club members (donors at or above $500 for the year) will also be invited as my guests. Those faculty and staff that are also Dean's Club members will get twice the thanks! Contact Pam French (Alumni Affairs) for details.
- The first ever Wisconsin reception for alumni and friends at an American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) meeting will be held in Denver on Sunday, October 14 from 8:00-9:30pm at the Hyatt Regency.
- The Wisconsin alumni breakfast at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) meeting in San Diego will be held Monday, November 12 from 7:00-8:30am in Torrey 1,2,3 at the Hilton.
- Our alumni gathering at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) conference in Las Vegas is scheduled for Sunday, December 2 from 6:00-9:00pm at the Venetian.
As you know from the press release that I circulated a couple weeks ago, Concordia University in Mequon recently announced their decision to start a PharmD program. They will build infrastructure over the next year or so with the target of admitting students in F2009.
I'm not sure what to say about the budget situation. Lack of Legislative action on the state budget basically translates into a sizeable cut to the UW System, but nothing is at all clear at this point.
In the hello mode... I'm happy to welcome a new research staff person, Jeffrey Williams, to the Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station. Jeff has just arrived from Ann Arbor, MI; his office is located in room 2304.
There always seems to be a flip side. In the goodbye mode... Kathy Skibinski (ESP) has accepted a position at St. Mary's Hospital here in Madison and will be leaving the School on October 12. Please join me in thanking Skibby for her multiple valuable roles with Extension and with the School for almost 7 years now.
Thanks to Paul Hutson (PPD) and his wife Theresa for hosting a School-wide family pot luck at their home in September. The kids did not seem to mind the cool temperatures and spent the entire time in the swimming pool. The food and friendship were terrific.
Notable notes this month... Art Shuna (VAMC/PPD) was selected for national recognition as the Residency Preceptor of the Year by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Foundation. The award will be presented in Las Vegas on Saturday, December 2. Tom Thielke (PPD/UWHC) won this year's Distinguished Service Award from the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW). Orly Vardeny (PPD) was honored by being selected as one of five finalists for the Jay N. Cohen New Investigator Award competition at the recent Heart Failure Society of America conference. While another finalist ultimately received the award, it is noteworthy that Orly was only the second non-physician in the 11-year history of the award to be nominated. A new textbook edited by Jill Kolesar, Pharmacotherapy Principles and Practice, was recently published. Orly and John Dopp (PPD) joined Jill as contributing authors. Jon Thorson's (PharmSci) recent work continues to garner local and national attention. Chemical & Engineering News and Chemistry World both did special features on Jon and his collaborators. A snapshot also appeared in the September 16 Wisconsin State Journal in the Discoveries column. Sharon Vetter's (Research Admin) arrival and Dave Kreling's (SAS) appointment as the Apple Distinguished Chair were highlighted in the September 5 Wisconsin Week, along with a listing of the Friday PharmSci seminars.
Tim Heath (PharmSci) is officially retiring as of today. Thanks to Tim for his years of excellence and commitment as a scientist and educator. He will be breaking in our Emeritus Lab/Office over in the CSC (K6/371 and K6/375) that we're leasing from the School of Nursing to continue research activities with collaborators in Vet Med. I'm sure he would welcome visitors and will be in and around the School a lot. His office and lab phone numbers will remain the same. Best wishes, Tim!
In the truly amazing category (at least to me)... Pam French (Alumni Affairs) ran a mini triathlon at Devil's Head in September. Even more amazing, Diane Stojanovich (Communications) participated in the 2007 IronMan, finishing in a time of 14:59:34. Wow! And ran a half marathon the next week while vacationing in Bar Harbor, ME. Diane even received some wonderful press in the Portland Press Herald, highlighting her work as founder of TEAMSurvivor Madison.
The Annual Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW) Meeting was held in September in LaCrosse. Thanks to who presented and admirably represented the School (Jeanine Mount, SAS; Eva Vivian, PPD; Denise Walbrandt Pigarelli, PPD), as well as those who attended. It was great seeing a roomful of alums at the Pharmacy Alumni Association (PAA) luncheon during the meeting. Speaking of PSW, Dave Mott (SAS) has led the SOP's participation in the Wisconsin Pharmacy Quality Collaborative (WPQC), a first-of-its kind initiative to "standardize, formalize, and recognize (with payment) the important role of the pharmacist in the medication use process." This is a very important project in its own right that will also allow the further construction of practice-based research networks around the state. There's also a joint effort, including alum Brian Jensen, to obtain a substantial grant from the Community Pharmacy Foundation. Brian has recently joined their board, and there's lots of good discussion and possibilities being shaped.
To continue progress on the rural pharmacy initiative, the Academic Work Group met again at the School in September to develop an action plan to enhance connection with and student knowledge about opportunities for practicing in rural areas after graduation. Much of this falls within the realm of the experiential education program, and I thank Marty Kieser (PPD/Exp Ed) for her leadership in the effort.
The 2007 SOP Scholarships Ceremony was held on September 11. This wonderful event provides an opportunity for individual and corporate donors to meet the students who receive scholarships resulting from their generosity. It is a testament to the power of philanthropy. This year the School will be providing almost $459,000 in financial support to over 130 BS and PharmD students. This total includes $112,000 in UW Advanced Opportunity Fellowship support for underrepresented minority students and over $110,000 from the federal government for our most financially disadvantaged students that Amber Ault (Diversity) succeeded in attracting. This total also includes a record $236,000 in scholarship support to 117 students from our endowed funds and annual gifts, up from $188,000 last year and $140,000 the year before. An amazing record that includes nine new scholarships this year. Thanks to Linda Halsey (Development) for all her work on behalf of our students, to Pam French (Alumni Affairs) for organizing such a lovely event, to Beth Martin (PPD) for her expert emcee role as chair of the Scholarships Committee, to other members of the Committee, and to the faculty and staff who took the time to attend. One of my very favorite events...
The 3rd Annual Faculty Recognition Day was held on September 26. Thanks to everyone who attended to celebrate the incredible contributions of our faculty to our multiple academic missions. Following the tradition being established, the corresponding Staff Recognition Day will be held in spring semester. Thanks to Madelyn Alt and Olivia Szymanski (Dean's Office) for taking such good care of us with food and beverages, and the IIT Group (I think they all helped) with the audio.
The Graduate Student Mixer occurred on September 28, celebrating a variety of graduate student awards and honors, and again linking fellowship and award donors and recipients. The following students were honored:
- The first Kenneth Connors Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, through the generosity of alum Jordan Cohen and his wife, Jana, to Claire Schmerberg (PharmSci)
- Kato and David Perlman Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship to Nicole Rockich (PharmSci)
- Thora Vevoren Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowships to Kyle Kleinbeck and Ryan Peterson (PharmSci)
- Leon Lachman Travel Award in PharmSci (Drug Delivery) to Jun Huang (Yu group)
- Joseph Wiederholt Travel Awards in SAS to Yu-Chieh (Jack) Chen (Kreling group), Abhijit Gadkari (Mott group), Shih-Ying (Audrey) Hung (Mount group), JeongSun (Monica) Hwang (Young group), Minhee Kim (Svarstad group), Pallavi Patwardhan (Chewning group), and Suntaree Watcharadamrongkun (Mount group)
- Donald Witiak Travel Award in PharmSci (Drug Discovery) to Changhong Ko (Hsung group)
- Rennebohm Foundation TA Awards to Howard Chen (Furgeson group, PharmSci), Abhijit Gadkari (Mott group, SAS), Jeanine Porter (Mott group, SAS), and Joe Su (Burnette group, PharmSci)
- Rennebohm Foundation Dissertation Award to Bupendra Shah (Chewning group, SAS) and Jie Yang (Thorson group, PharmSci)
- Continuing American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) fellowship support to James Dowell (Li/Johnson groups, PharmSci)
Very special guests at the Mixer included alum Lenor Zeeh and Steve Skolaski (Oscar Rennebohm Foundation) and Pat and Ken Connors (PharmSci/Dean emeritus). Thanks to the faculty and staff who attended and supported the graduate students, to Linda Frei (Graduate Program Office) and Joni Mitchell (PharmSci) for organizing everything, and to Chris Spencer (IIT) for audio support.
Alum Rose Mancuso made a substantial contribution to the scholarship fund that bears her name last month. Rose, along with alums Don and Phil Lindsay and Phil's wife, Sharon, joined husband Dave and I in the Chancellor's Box for the Washington State football game. We were also happy to host alum Jerry Sveum in the Box for the game against the Citadel. Linda Halsey (Development) and I had lunch recently with alum Deb Fluno. She had never visited Rennebohm Hall before, and Linda gave her a full tour of our beautiful facilities. It was particularly gratifying to be able to tell her that the Fluno/Coulter scholarship has grown to the point where we can give it out for the first time next year. George Zografi (PharmSci emeritus) had the chance to visit with our good friend and benefactor, Leona Sonderegger, during a recent trip to Tucson, as well as alum Jim Tingstad and his wife, Phyllis. Thanks, George!
Until next month...Jeanette