In memory of Lenor B. Zeeh
1914 - 2008
It is with great sadness that we say good-bye to Lenor Zeeh, a 1936 alum of the School, who meant so much to us, to pharmacy, and to the community. He was a very proud Pharmacy Badger who gave back to the School and the profession in profound and multiple ways. As just one example, there is no question that we would not be sitting in our beautiful new home of Rennebohm Hall without Zeeh's personal commitment and direct engagement with donors that helped make it all happen. For that, for his unwavering dedication, and for his deep and true friendship, we honor his memory and celebrate his long life. Among other charitable interests, the family has thoughtfully directed memorial gifts to the Pharmaceutical Experiment Station that bears his name. It's wonderful to have this way to keep his name and legacy very much alive at the School.
And truly in the "circle of life" mode... We're very pleased to welcome little Cameron Altschafl to the world on February 27. Congratulations to the proud parents, Jeremy (Student and Academic Affairs Office) and Beth!
Items on the "save the date" list include:
- The third public forum with the Chancellor Search and Screen Committee will be held on Thursday, March 6 at 4:00 in 109 Union South. Feel free to attend, learn about the process, and share your points of view about desired/required characteristics of our next Chancellor. Nominations for the position can be sent to chancellorsearch@bascom.wisc.edu.
- The next Executive Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 at 12:00 in room 1128. 11 members and 9 advisory members must be present to constitute a quorum for general business.
- The annual dinner with PharmD students, graduate students, and faculty attending the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) conference in San Diego is scheduled for Saturday, March 15 starting at 6:30 at Buster's Beach House in Seaport Village, just off of West Harbor Dr. Our big alumni gathering at the meeting will be held Sunday, March 16 from 5:00-7:00 at the Convention Center, room 22.
- The SOP's Discovery Day for high school students is scheduled for Saturday, March 29.
- New: A Faculty Meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 2 from 3:00-4:30 in room 2006. The major agenda item is to discuss and decide about recommendations from the Curriculum Committee concerning modifications to the Pharm/Tox program. The other major agenda item is to begin to discuss ideas from the Curriculum Committee about revisions to the PharmD curriculum. This will be the first of several forums for faculty discussion and input back to the Committee. Due to curricular revisions being the responsibility of the faculty, I'd like to limit this meeting to faculty with the exception of instructional staff who teach in the programs or staff members serving on the Curriculum Committee who are a very knowledgeable resource for questions from the faculty.
- The next major event celebrating our 125th anniversary will be the Student Spring Bash in mid-April. Various events will be held, including a Research Ethics Forum on April 14, organized by the AAPS Student Chapter; the Kremers Lecture, featuring alum and current AACP President, Cindy Raehl, on April 15; and an afternoon and evening of fun, food, and friendship (including a Pharmacy Amazing Race, a pig roast, and more Chocolate ApotheCherry ice cream) also on April 15 being planned by the BS, PharmD, and grad students together. Stay tuned for additional information. And don't forget to participate in the monthly 125th Anniversary Trivia Contest that the students are running.
- New: Our 3rd Annual Staff Recognition Event will be held on Wednesday, April 30 from 3:00-5:00 in the Commons.
When I arrived in Madison in late 2003, I met with everyone in the School individually to get to know you and to start to understand the people and the place. It's past time for me to do that again, so I'll be contacting everyone with the idea of sitting down with you for 20 minutes or so and listening to your views about whatever aspects, features, areas you feel I need to hear about. For lack of a more creative approach, I think I'll go more or less alphabetically. Thanks in advance for taking the time to provide feedback to me in this way.
I'm very pleased to announce a new named chair in the School...the Melvin H. Weinswig Chair in Extension Services in Pharmacy. Before becoming dean in 1995, Mel served as chair of ESP for more than 25 years and guided the division's development into one of the top providers of pharmaceutical continuing education and training in the country if not the world. Congratulations, Mel, on this recognition by your colleagues! Like our other named chairs, specific criteria will be followed to select the Weinswig Chair holder. A selection committee (Mel as chair, Anna Legreid Dopp, and Gordon Sacks) will review nominations/applications with the goal of bringing a recommendation to the Executive Committee at the May meeting. The term will begin on July 1, 2008, and the chair includes a $10,000 salary supplement and $20,000 in support for special outreach activities (teaching, research, and service).
I'm also very pleased to announce the establishment of the Office of Global Health here in the School. The Office will be directed by Connie Kraus (PPD) and will interface closely with the UW Center for Global Health in which the SOP has been a key partner of long standing. At the moment, the areas of emphasis center around field studies, clerkships, internships, etc. for PharmD students. The long-term vision includes a significant component relating to graduate education and research opportunities around the world as well. So Connie is the official "go-to" person for all things relating to global experiences, student exchanges, international interactions, etc. Curt Johnson (PPD Emeritus) continues in his key role as essential right-hand man in the effort. Thanks to both for their commitment to this area of growing importance for us. For anyone interested in the creation of the UW CGH, see Acad. Med. 83:148-53 (2008).
We're about ready to welcome two new members of the SAS faculty who will arrive in early to mid March... Michelle Chui and Joshua Thorpe. Please join me in extending a warm welcome to our new colleagues. Faculty searches in PharmSci (both Drug Delivery and Drug Discovery) are well along, and one in Extension Services is gearing up. We continue to work on Madelyn's replacement. Great work, all.
Faculty highlights from the past month that have crossed my desk include... Beth Martin's (PPD) contributions to the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin's (PSW) Wisconsin Pharmacy Quality Collaborative were mentioned in the March/April edition of the JPSW. I know Dave Mott (SAS) and Mike Pitterle (PPD/IIT) are involved as well and probably others. In addition, the article entitled "Inherit the Weeds" featuring Jon Thorson (PharmSci) and the history of the Pharmaceutical Experiment Station was republished in JPSW from On Wisconsin. John Scarborough (SAS) was named an affiliate faculty member in the Department of History. A paper out of Glen Kwon's group (PharmSci; J. Pharm. Sci. 92:1343-55 (2003)) ranked fifth among the ten most highly cited articles in 2007 by the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. A great write-up about Ben Shen (PharmSci) and his innovative work in bacterial natural products appeared in the February 27 Wisconsin Week.
I'm also pleased to let you know that Kali Williams (PharmD student) was honored during PSW's Legislative Day with the Student Good Government Award. Melissa Natzke and Megan Sheahan (PharmD students) have been invited to sit on the Division of International Studies' Student Advisory Board. PharmSci graduate student, James Dowell (Johnson/Li groups) recently received an AFPE Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Student Recognition Award in addition to his current Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in the Pharmaceutical Sciences. Congratulations, all!
We recently received a letter from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) in response to the interim report submitted last fall. A link to the response can be found here . Progress in several areas was noted, and further reporting on a short list of items is required in October 2009.
The SOP's Discovery Day for college students was held on Saturday, February 9. Thanks to Becky Beebe (Student and Academic Affairs) for organizing such an informative and welcoming event, and for the many, many alumni, faculty, staff, and students who joined in to make it such a success. Thanks also to Linda Frei (Graduate Program Office) and the many faculty, staff, and students in PharmSci, SAS, and UWHC Pharmacy for the flurry of activity and hard work that goes into graduate student recruitment and admissions this time of year. More on PharmD admissions next month!
As we advance through our festive 125th anniversary year, I'd like to highlight various groups or individuals from time to time that have contributed so much. It seems fitting to begin that process by thanking the original working group that started thinking about concepts, ideas, and events back in 2005. The group was chaired by Curt Johnson (PPD Emeritus) and was composed of Greeta Cherayil (alum), Ken Connors (PharmSci Emeritus), Linda Dietrich (UWHC Public Affairs), Linda Frei (Graduate Program Office), Pam French (Alumni Relations), Linda Halsey (Development), Greg Higby (AIHP), Russ Jensen (alum), George Zografi (PharmSci Emeritus) and later joined by Theresa Brownson (PharmD student) and Diane Stojanovich (Communications). Thank you!! There was also a nice mention of the anniversary in the January 30 Wisconsin Week. Thanks, Diane!
The Board of Directors of PSW met in February, in conjunction with their annual Legislative Day. The Academic Work Group of the rural pharmacy workforce initiative also met again to continue to make progress in this important area.
In the alumni, donor, and friend category... As mentioned last month, the Chancellor is sponsoring a suite at the Kohl Center for development and alumni relations purposes. Alums Lynn Dittman, Cindy Benning, Terry Audley, and Mary Rice joined me for the Minnesota men's basketball game, and alums Jerry Sveum, Char Smith, and Jim Radtke and his wife Peg came to the Michigan State game. The AAPS Student Chapter hosted alum Gene Fiese as their 2008 speaker, and it was great to catch up with him, exchange stories, etc.
Spring is on its way! Assuming we survive the thaw... Best wishes in all things...Jeanette