Details about the budget situation and its impact on the SOP continue to slowly solidify. All state agencies, including UW-Madison and all the schools/colleges, will be subject to a 1% cut to our base budget. All deans are having individual meetings with the Chancellor, Provost, and Vice Chancellor for Administration, after which decisions will be made about differential cuts not to exceed 5%. Cuts will be “front loaded” into the first year of the 2009-11 biennium and are expected to relax during the second year. Thanks again to faculty and staff for working with me to identify creative solutions to ensure that we maintain our preeminence and continue to enhance all we do even in difficult financial times.
You probably have read or heard about the Chancellor’s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates. This initiative involves a tuition differential for all UW-Madison undergraduates that is intended to enhance the quality of education and the overall educational experience by providing faculty for bottleneck courses, increases in student services, and most importantly dramatic increases in need-based financial aid to ensure access and affordability. It is a creative solution for a difficult time and is totally appropriate, in my mind. The differential does not apply to our PharmD or other professional students. This is a Regents’ decision, and the plan is to present the proposal for their vote at the May meeting. See www.madisoninitiative.wisc.edu for additional information.
The new Strategic Framework for UW-Madison that was distributed recently unfortunately omitted a key objective relating to increasing funding and support for graduate students that was intended to be included. The corrected version is available at www.chancellor.wisc.edu/strategicplan and new printed copies will be distributed soon.
For those coordinating classes/teaching this semester...please encourage your students to complete course/instructor evaluations. These are key components to improvement in teaching and are vital for meeting accreditation standards. The system has been greatly simplified and is totally on-line. Contact Jennie Hazen (SAS) for assistance.
Items on the “save the date” list include:
- The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) annual meeting in San Antonio is rapidly approaching. All faculty, staff, and students in attendance are invited to Dinner with the Dean on Saturday, April 4 at the Saltgrass Steakhouse, 502 Riverwalk at 7:30. The UW reception for alumni and friends will be held on Sunday, April 5 from 5:00-7:00 at the Marriott Rivercenter, rooms 1-3.
- New: The 2009 Kremers Lecture, featuring Lynnae Mahaney, alum, Director of Pharmacy at the Madison VAMC, and President-Elect of the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP), will be held at noon on Tuesday, April 7 in room 1306 HSLC, followed by lunch in the Commons. Everyone is welcome, but RSVPs to Megan Kultgen (kultgen@wisc.edu) are needed for lunch.
- The Pharmacy Examining Board (PEB) will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday, April 8 at 9:30 on their decision to do away with the Consultation Examination required for licensure in WI. I have submitted my objections to their reasoning, as have other faculty and practitioners. You are invited to share your position by attending and offering testimony. The PEB office is located at 1400 E. Washington Ave., Room 121A.
- Our fourth annual Staff Recognition Event will be held from 3:00-5:00 on Wednesday, April 8 in the Commons. I’ll make a few remarks around 3:30. Please come and thank our wonderful staff for their multiple and varied contributions to the School’s academic missions.
- New: The next meeting of the Executive Committee is set for Tuesday, April 14 at noon in room 1128. 12 members and 9 advisory members are required for a quorum for regular business. In addition, the Committee will be considering two cases for indefinite appointment status, which requires 15 members and 11 advisory members.
- New: We will be holding a thank-you event for the many volunteers who are members of the new Pharmacy Student Ambassadors Program on Wednesday, April 15, 3:30-5:00 in room 2336. To be a member, a student needs to participate in at least three events a year, such as giving tours, greeting guests at various functions, helping with set up or clean up, etc. Please join me in thanking our students who have greatly enhanced many functions and activities by their presence! All faculty/staff are welcome at the reception.
- New: The All School Spring Social, organized by the DPH-3 students, will be held on Saturday evening, April 18 in the Main Lounge of the Memorial Union. More details to follow. All faculty/staff are welcome.
- New: I had wanted to hold an all-School forum to discuss emerging ideas about our current strategic plan and new priorities as we develop the Strategic Plan 2010-2015 on Tuesday, April 21 at 12:00. Due to the April 27 deadline for NIH RC1 stimulus proposals, I’ll defer the forum with the faculty and staff to a later date, but still hold this time and date for interaction with the students. Both sessions will be facilitated by Maury Cotter (UW Office of Quality Improvement).
- New: The spring Educational Conference held by the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW) will occur on Thursday, April 23 at the Monona Terrace. In conjunction with this meeting, we will hold our annual White Coat Ceremony for DPH-1 students and their families starting at 6:30.
- New: It’s almost time for graduation! All are welcome at the Hooding Ceremony for PharmD, MS, and PhD candidates on Friday, May 15 in the Union Theater starting at 1:30. A festive reception follows with hundreds of family members and friends in the Great Hall. The UW Commencement ceremony for PharmD and PhD graduates then follows at the Kohl Center at 5:30. Commencement for our BS and MS graduates is held on Saturday, May 16 at the Kohl Center at 10:00. This is followed by a brunch for the Pharm/Tox graduates and their families at the Gordon Commons.
- New: The Curriculum Committee is accepting proposals for the 2009 Teaching Innovation Award with a deadline of June 1, 2009. The goal is to incentivize and reward faculty who develop new or modify existing coursework such that faculty in at least two divisions of the SOP work together. Award recipients will receive $2,500 each (up to three per course) to support professional activities.
- Mark you calendars now for the Pharmacy Alumni Association (PAA) Golf Tournament scheduled for Friday, June 19. All proceeds benefit the PAA scholarship fund.
The process to conduct a 5-year review of my performance as dean is underway. I’m told that a review committee has been appointed and everyone will have the opportunity to be interviewed or provide input along the way. Stay tuned for additional information.
Speaking of reviews…our Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI) has worked very hard with me to refine and standardize the annual evaluation tool and process for academic staff. I strongly encourage all division chairs and unit directors to take this process very seriously for the professional development of our staff and continual quality improvement of all we do. New forms and process suggestions should reach all supervisors soon, if you haven’t received them already.
At the Faculty/Staff meeting on March 27, the faculty voted to approve the course change proposals for 525 and 526, the second year of the new introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) coursework. In addition, the faculty approved reducing the required number of professional electives by three credits for the PharmD class of 2012, but increasing the number of credits required for graduation from 206 to 209 for the classes of 2013 and 2014. This is a time-limited issue due to curricular changes. The items relating to cross-listing courses and a “Pharmacy” subject listing were referred back to the Curriculum Committee for further discussion. I also added a request for the Committee to review and update the list of professional electives, especially with the idea of adding appropriate coursework now available through the MS/PhD programs in Clinical Investigation.
In the faculty and staff search arena… We are pleased to welcome Tim Bugni, currently a Research Assistant Professor in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Utah, to the SOP family. Tim has accepted the position in the Drug Discovery Core in PharmSci starting August 1. One offer is out and another in formation for the two openings in the Drug Delivery Core. Sarah Kuba just joined the SOP this past Monday in the Student and Academic Affairs Office as the Director of Assessment and academic advisor.
It’s that time of year to name the 2009 Teachers of the Year…one of my favorite things of all! At the recent initiation of 28 new student members into the Rho Chi Pharmacy Honor Society, the following faculty and instructional staff were recognized for their extraordinary skill in the classroom: DPH-1 Award, Beth Rosen (PharmSci); DPH-2 Award, Oana Martin (PharmSci); DHP-3 Award, Gordon Sacks (former PPD); Student Senate Distinguished Teaching Award, Beth Martin (PPD). Congratulations, all! And thanks to the faculty advisors (Warren Rose and Eva Vivian (both PPD)) and organizers of this lovely event and the people who support the financial awards: Char and Gus Lemberger (dean and PharmSci emeritus) and Pat and Mel Weinswig (dean and ESP emeritus).
We have recently succeeded in finalizing the Rennebohm Lecturers for 2009 and 2010. Bill Evans, CEO and Director of St. Jude Children’s Hospital will be here on September 10, 2009 (for two lectures), and Jeff Drazen, Editor-in-Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, will visit us on April 8 and 9, 2010. Paul Hutson (PPD) nominated Dr. Evans and will serve as his campus host; Chris and Ron Sorkness (PPD) will serve the same role with Dr. Drazen. Thanks to everyone who submitted truly exceptional candidates. We’ll keep them all on file for the future.
Chancellor Martin has announced a campus-wide “common book program” called Go Big Read. A book to be read by interested students, staff, and faculty will be selected soon and various discussions and related events about the book will be held in classes and other venues across campus in fall semester. Jump right in! For more information and to sign up, see www.gobigread.wisc.edu.
Thanks to everyone involved in the incredibly successful SOP Discovery Day for high school students...a packed house! Becky Beebe, the entire Student and Academic Affairs staff, and our Student Ambassadors do such a beautiful job with this event.
Some recent faculty highlights that have crossed my desk:
- John Kao and Lingjun Li (both PharmSci) have been selected as Vilas Associates for the next 2 years.Considering that the Vilas endowment has taken a hit from the economic downturn and the number of associates was reduced this year, it’s a tribute to these outstanding faculty that both were chosen. Congratulations!
- Congratulations also to Lara Collier (PharmSci) who has been selected as a 2009 Kimmel Scholar by the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research. This prestigious award provides research grants to the nation’s most promising young cancer researchers. A terrific accomplishment!
- George Zografi (PharmSci emeritus) has been invited to serve as the keynote speaker at a workshop jointly sponsored by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), the US Pharmacopeia (USP), and the FDA on physical pharmacy and drug development in Baltimore in May.
- Extension Services in Pharmacy’s (ESP) held their 30th annual Madison Clinical Conference in March…another wonderful milestone for the leading continuing education and outreach unit in pharmacy nationwide. This year’s program focused in recent advancements in the pharmacotherapy of respiratory diseases. Research and patient care in this and related areas are a distinct strength in the SOP, highlighted by the extensive participation by PPD members Jill Kolesar, Beth Martin, Warren Rose, Valerie Schend, Chris Sorkness, and Ron Sorkness.
- Jon Thorson (PharmSci) and two members of his lab, Maoquan Zhou and Shanteri Singh, were featured prominently in the 2008 annual report of the UW Comprehensive Cancer Center.
- UW Hospital and Clinics has been named one of five top performers in several areas including pharmacy services.Congrats to all our colleagues there!
- Anna Legreid Dopp (ESP) was recently admitted to the MS program in Population Health Sciences.
- Beth Martin (PPD) was elected to the UW-Madison Teaching Academy, an honor shared only by Connie Kraus (PPD) among SOP faculty.
- Mike Pitterle (PPD/IIT) was asked by the Technology in Education and Learning (TEL) effort to submit a full proposal expanding the development of virtual interprofessional patient case studies.
- Connie Kraus and Curt Johnson (both PPD/Global Health) hosted a group of visitors from Thailand interested in pursuing opportunities for Thai graduate students to visit the SOP and work with our faculty as part of their training.
- I was amazed by the level of coverage of SOP activities and articles by SOP faculty in the March/April edition of the Journal of the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin(JPSW). There was a commentary by Michelle Chui (SAS), an article by Denise Walbrandt Pigarelli (PPD), the introduction of new faculty Susie Barnett and Andrea Duchac (both PPD), an article about the Student Pharmacists Oakwood-Partner Program (POPs, a key feature of the new DPH-1 experiential education courses developed by Beth Martin (PPD)), and a nice write-up about the Wisconsin Pharmacy Quality Collaborative involving several partners in the SOP.
- Robert Thorne (hopefully soon-to-be PharmSci) was invited by the Michael J. Fox Foundation to be an inaugural contributor to a new venture called PD Online Research due to his expertise in drug delivery to the central nervous system with specific focus on Parkinson’s disease.
In terms of staff news:
- I think it’s worth mentioning again that Joni Mitchell (PharmSci) received one of only five campus-wide Classified Employee Recognition Awards and will be recognized by the Chancellor at a reception at Olin House on April 29.
Relating to students, residents, and trainees:
- Gavin Williams (Thorson group, PharmSci) has recently accepted a faculty position in Chemistry at NC State University. Gavin will also be representing the SOP at a forum organized by the UW Graduate Student Collaborative on the plusses and minuses of selecting a postdoctoral position in academia for future career development.
- As mentioned above, the SOP was featured prominently in the March/April edition of JPSW. This also included an article by DPH-4 student Barrett Crowther and one by a Thai pharmacy student, Phetpim Ketudat, who is visiting Wisconsin.
- The UW-Madison Student Chapter of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) was featured prominently in the March AAPS Newsmagazine. Nice!
In the alumni, donor, and friend category:
- Linda Halsey (Development) and I held a 125th (well, maybe 125.3) anniversary and People Programs reception in the Sears Tower in Chicago in March. The event was organized and hosted by alum and BOV member, Mark Kontny, and was attended by some 30 alums and upper management from the Walgreens Corporation.
- The People & Programs Campaign will be running at full speed until the end of 2009. As of February 1, 2009, we have gifts, pledges, and planned gifts exceeding an amazing $19.5M with only more progress to come!
- Several alums have been elected for national positions with the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP): Kristin Hanson, Catherin Johnson, Susan Kleppin, and Steve Rough (UWHC/PPD).
- I’ve continued my drop-in visits to experiential sites and clinical instructors, most of whom are alums of the SOP. In March, I visited alums Susan Halweg and Renee White at the Dean Clinical Pharmacy West, Rebecca Guenther and Heather Callison at Group Health Coop Pharmacy-Sauk Trails, and Charlie Lee (who was on a cruise!) and Eileen Cobb at Target Pharmacy West.
- Alum and clinical faculty member, Tom Thielke, will be retiring this summer after decades of service to the profession at UW Hospital and Clinics and the SOP. Lee Vermeulen (UWHC/PPD) and Jill Kolesar (PPD) are leading the effort to establish the Thomas Thiekle Leadership in Action Scholarship Fund that recently received a major lead gift from the McKesson Corporation.
I really am trying to make these shorter... Anyway, spring is on the way! Hang in there. And best wishes with the flurry of activity submitting proposals for federal stimulus funds...Good luck! Jeanette