First of the Month Newsletter - Latest News

Items on the “save the date” list include:

• To celebrate State Employees Recognition Day this year, UW-Madison will again host its annual Ice Cream Social on May 8 from 1:00-2:30 outside on Bascom Hill. Directors, deans, and other administrators will be doing the scooping in honor of all campus employees. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. (I'm not sure if they will be serving Chocolate ApotheCherry, but I suggested it.)
• The next Executive Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13 at 12:00 in room 1128. Please note: 11 members and 9 advisory members must be present to constitute a quorum for general business.
• A Faculty Meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, May 15 from 1:00-2:30 in room 2006. Several committees are bringing forward recommendations for faculty approval and there are key discussion points as well…more info below. Due to policy and 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 PharmD program or staff members serving on the PharmD Admissions or Curriculum Committees who are a very knowledgeable resource for questions from the faculty. Please note: 28 faculty (all tracks, all ranks) are required to constitute a quorum to hold a formal vote.
• Commencement ceremonies for our graduates will occur on May 16 and 17. The hooding ceremony for PharmD, MS, and PhD grads will be held in Memorial Union Theater on May 16 starting at 1:30, followed by a festive reception. All faculty and staff are welcome to attend and help celebrate our students' success. Many awards are presented at that time to graduating students, as is the Larry Boh Clinical Instructor Award, this year going to alum Cathy Lea of Eau Claire. University graduation follows at the Kohl Center. Graduation for our BS Pharm/Tox students occurs on May 17, followed by a brunch for graduates, family members, and program faculty and staff.
• A symposium honoring the distinguished career of Professor Emeritus C. Richard “Hutch” Hutchinson (PharmSci) entitled “Natural Product Biosynthesis, Engineering, and Drug Discovery” will be held on Friday, June 20.
• The next major event celebrating our 125th anniversary will be the US-Thai Consortium meeting in mid-July. See the US/Thai pages for registration and program information. Thanks to the Pharmacy Student Senate for providing financial support to two PharmD students to attend the meeting.

Thanks to the many faculty, staff, students, GHC colleagues, and WI Team in Training members who ran in honor of Adam Nickel during the 2008 Crazylegs Classic in April. Final touches are being made to ways we plan to honor his memory. Stay tuned...

The first edition of the “new-look” publication for the School…DISCOVERx…will be out very soon. The idea is to better highlight student, staff, faculty, alumni, and donor news and information, share the excitement of everything that's going on at the SOP, and connect in new ways with our many constituencies. I invite your comments and feedback.

Revisions to the Pharm/Tox curriculum were recently approved by the faculty, which will accomplish several important goals for the program, as well as ease some logistical stress points with the PharmD program. Thanks to program director Jeff Johnson (PharmSci), the PharmSci Division, and the Curriculum Committee for getting that done. Revisions to the PharmD curriculum continue to evolve as well. The Curriculum Committee will be providing additional details for discussion at the division level before inviting School-wide discussion at the May 15 faculty meeting. The majority of the revisions will not be brought forward for formal approval at that time, but we do need to decide on some small modifications in the experiential education program intended to take effect in fall semester. Faculty presence and input to the Curriculum Committee is vital. Several recommendations are coming forward from the PharmD Admissions Committee that also require discussion and faculty input.

As mentioned previously, I'm in the process of sitting down individually with all members of the SOP faculty and staff to listen to your views about whatever aspects, features, areas you feel I need to hear about. Thanks in advance for taking the time to provide feedback to me in this way.

Faculty highlights that have crossed my desk:

• Eva Vivian (PPD) and DPH-3 student, Amy Dietzel, were featured in the April 6 Wisconsin State Journal for their participation in the 21st annual multicultural health fair sponsored by the Madison's Boys and Girls Club. In addition, Eva recently visited Uganda and will be returning there next month to continue her research and education activities.
• Speaking of Global Health activities, Connie Kraus (PPD) visited the Nizwi University College of Pharmacy in Oman to review their pharmacy program and to build new relationships with the School.
• Congratulations to Weiping Tang (PharmSci), who recently received funding through the Petroleum Research Fund from the American Chemical Society.
• Ron Sorkness' (PPD) work in severe asthma was highlighted in the April 13 Wisconsin State Journal.
• Betty Chewning (SAS) and colleagues in the School of Nursing and Medicine and Public Health received one of the first pilot awards from the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR). In addition, one of Betty's PhD students, Medha Sansane, defended her dissertation in April.
• Anna Leigrid Dopp (ESP) checked in recently from Washington, D.C. with news of her work with Senator Lieberman and advocacy for increased federal funding for the NIH, especially CTSAs. Other visitors have included CDC Director Gerberding and former Prime Minister Tony Blair…wow!
• Thanks to Orly Vardeny (PPD) and DPH-3 students, Theresa Brownson, Kajua Lor, and Kali Williams, for participating in the Women in Health Care High School Seminar, organized by the School of Medicine and Public Health, admirably representing the School and the profession. Orly's work on influenza vaccine responses in heart failure patients, presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago, has received additional coverage on ABC News, Reuters, and Sign On San Diego.
• Mel de Villiers (PharmSci) was recently appointed Associate Editor for the Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology, and his work was featured on the cover of the March 2008 edition. Mel has also been selected to serve on the Editorial Board of Current Drug Discovery Technologies.
• John Dopp's (PPD) role as an author of the sixth edition of the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program (PSAP-VI) received special commendation from the Editorial Board.
• And many congratulations to Lingjun Li (PharmSci) who received unanimous approval for promotion to associate professor with the award of tenure from the Physical Sciences Divisional Executive Committee...advice that I was more than happy to enthusiastically accept!

Notable notes among the staff include:

• Congratulations to Lauren Budden (IIT) who married Mike Shawl in mid-April.
• Diane Stojanovich (Communications) was featured in the April 13 “Know your Madisonian” section of the Wisconsin State Journal with a wonderful write-up about her work as a cancer survivor and champion of fitness challenges. (The newspaper article was much better with a great photo.) Speaking of fitness challenges, Diane recently ran the Boston Marathon in Adam Nickel's memory, finishing with a time of 4:40:44. Wow!
• Many thanks to Amber Ault (Diversity) and our Multicultural Affairs in Pharmacy Program (MAPP) students for helping to organize and host the American Indian Health Sciences Day, which brings native high school students from all over the state and the region to learn about health sciences career possibilities. And congratulations to Amber for being nominated for a Brenda Pfaehler Award of Excellence from the TRIO Program.
• My new Executive Assistant, Laurie Leininger, began her position with us in April, as did Ashwanth Vijayan (ZPES). Stop in and welcome to our new staff!
• Our 3rd Annual Staff Recognition Event was held recently with special recognition for those joining the School, those with "anniversary" years of service, special accomplishments, etc. Thanks to all who attended to say "thank you" to our critical support staff, to Pam French (Alumni Relations) for organizing the event, and to Laurie Leininger and DPH-1 student bartender, Dan Schenkat, for their assistance. The info sheet distributed at the reception with this year's highlights is attached for those who could not attend. I added Jennie Hazen (SAS) and Barb Beinborn (PPD), who should have been listed under the "thanks" for faculty/staff search category. Searches in these two divisions were still going on during the time period covered, and their contributions were greatly appreciated. Sorry to omit them originally.

The University Committee is accepting applications/nominations for faculty (tenure track) appointments to the UW-Madison Athletic Board beginning in Fall 2008. Candidates are asked to submit a letter describing what they believe they would contribute to the Board, a current cv with University service detailed, and a summary of teaching and research activities to David Musolf in 133 Bascom Hall or musolf@bascom.wisc.edu. The application deadline is Wednesday, May 14, 2008. See the Secretary of the Faculty webpages for additional information.

UW System Legal Services have asked that we distribute the attached brochure on Employee Ethics and Public Records Management to all faculty and staff. The brochure is not intended to make everyone an expert, but to answer basic questions and encourage consultation. If questions arise, please contact your division chair or unit supervisor or the UW-Madison Office of Administrative Legal Services.

A couple student highlights include:

• My congratulations also to our student chapter of Phi Delta Chi. Our Delta Chapter (the fourth chapter nationwide, chartered in 1900) hosted the PDC Midwest Regional Conference in April with a record attendance of 181. In addition, Lynna Knurowski (DPH-3) was elected to a term as PDC Regional Correspondent.
• Jordan Dow (DPH-4) and his wife, alum Rebekka Dow, also ran in the Boston Marathon, finishing together with a time of 3:24:35.
• One of our most important student events was held in April…the White Coat Ceremony for DPH-1s…in conjunction with the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin's (PSW) Educational Conference at Monona Terrace. Beautifully organized, as usual, by the students (especially DPH-3s Lynna Knurowski and Amanda Pitterle) and WSPS advisors and supported by PSW, WSPS, the Pharmacy Student Senate, and the PAA…nicely done! And thanks to the many faculty and staff who attended to celebrate with our students and their families.
• Our Multicultural Affairs Program in Pharmacy (MAPP) student organization received a campus-level “Outstanding Contribution to Membership Award” from the UW Student Organization Office.
• Congratulations also to Nikki (DPH-4) and August Hopp who are the proud parents of a baby boy.
• Best wishes to Tad Schikle (DPH-4) who received a liver transplant recently and is doing great.

And what can I say about the 125th anniversary student activities?

• The panel discussion organized by the UW student chapter of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), especially PharmSci graduate students, Kwadwo Owusu-Ofori and Amy Chung, was really terrific.
  • Thinking about where the research of the School can and should fit within the context of the Wisconsin Idea (and what the Wisconsin Idea actually means today), the importance of engaging the public - actually listening to the needs of the state - and the critical nature of communicating about research, our responsibility to better prepare our students...just terrific.
  • Thanks to the panel members: Betty Chewning (SAS), Darin Furgeson (PharmSci), Paul Hutson (PPD), John Kao (PharmSci), Eva Vivian (PPD), and Henry Young (SAS), masterfully moderated by Jeanine Mount (SAS).
• The 125th Anniversary Student Spring Bash was fabulous!
• The festivities started with the Kremer's Lecture by alum and current American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) President Cindy Raehl. And we were pleased to welcome Edward Kremer's granddaughter, Martha Kremers Gilpin and other family members to the School for a tour and the lecture…thanks to Linda Halsey's (Development) efforts.
• We were able to combine Cindy's lecture with her desire to do outreach visits as AACP President along with alum and AACP staff member George McKinnon. Thanks to Laura Breu (Student and Academic Affairs) for setting that piece up.
• The Pharmacy Amazing Race was just that…amazing! 15 teams of students, staff, and faculty, such as the Renne Bombs, the F.B. Power Rangers, the five sausages from the Brewers, Rennie's Renegades, the Beta Blockers...Paul Hutson (PPD) as Oddjob, Tina Rundle's (Student and Academic Affairs) hot rod driving skills… And remind me never to give Bonnie Fingerhut (PharmSci) a whistle again!
• The MAPP fashion show was spectacular…sadly, the bagpipe player in full Scottish regalia, John Gray, is graduating this year so we'll lose his very unique talent.
• And the MadHatters were perfect!
• Thanks to the many people who made this all possible, especially the members of the 125th Anniversary Student Activities Planning Committee…Theresa Brownson (chair, DPH-3), Heather Berghammer (DPH-1), Robbie Bertram (TOX-4), Jordon Dow (DPH-4), Abhijit Gadkari (SAS PhD), Kajua Lor (DPH-3), Brandon Ordway (MS/Resident at UWHC), Megan Sheahan (DPH-3), Joe Su (PharmSci PhD), Zoua Yang (DPH-3), and Eva Zoellner (DPH-3), with faculty oversight from Karen Kopacek and Glynis Kinney (both PPD) and all the usual outstanding assistance from the Dream Team members, Pam French (Alumni Relations) and Diane Stojanovich (Communications). Tom O'Connor (Business Office) and Greg Higby (AIHP) deserve gold medals for all their efforts as well. Thanks, all!

The PSW Educational Conference was well attended by students, staff, and faculty. Beth Martin (PPD), Chris Sorkness (PPD), and Steve Rough (PPD/UWHC) presented at the meeting, and I ran into Ron Sorkness, Curt Johnson, Denise Walbrandt Pigarelli (all PPD), Betty Chewning (SAS), and even Chris Spencer (IIT) there to tape Chris Sorkness' outstanding update on asthma treatment guidelines…there were undoubtedly others attending. There were several posters presented by our students and faculty, and Pam French manned the PAA/SOP information booth, with Gerri Wanserski (Ebling Library) right next door. One definite highlight was a new feature... "OTC Challenge! A Student Competition." Two teams of four students...the Self-Care Sirens vs. the Tween-80s...faced off on a variety of OTC-related questions in a Jeopardy-style format, with half the audience cheering for one team or the other. Some very tough questions, with the Tween-80s ultimately prevailing. Curt Johnson was one of the esteemed judges, and Ron Sorkness and Beth Martin served as lifelines for particularly tricky questions.

In the alumni, donor, and friend category:

• 125th anniversary/People & Programs (P&P) alumni gatherings continued in April:
  • The Milwaukee Veteran Pharmacist Association (MVPA) visited the School for lunch and tours. What an amazing group of alumni who have accomplished so much during their professional lives and who never forget to give back to the School in support of our students. In fact, they provided a generous gift we'll apply to the scholarship fund of alum and MVPA member, Tom Kies. And they made me an honorary member! Thanks to Linda Halsey and Pam French for all the arrangements and to the students who assisted with the tours.
  • Linda and I hosted a lively reception for alumni and friends in Wausau. We also took a side trip to see Clinical Instructor Jill Michaud at Aspirus Hospital to thank that organization for their extensive role in our experiential education program.
  • We also hosted a very well-attended alumni gathering in Neenah with side trips to see alum Ralph Kalies, founder of BidRx (and several other ventures), and alum Cindy Raehl's father.
• The Board of Visitors gathered at the School in April for their usual spring meeting…what an incredible source of pride, energy, support, and good ideas for the School. Alum and BOV member, Hy Mitchner, was unable to attend the meeting, but was in town the week before, so we got to spend some time together.
• Special note: I'm very pleased to announce the recipients of the 2008 Citations of Merit from the School…only an honorary degree from the University itself is a higher honor: Duane Kirking (BS '74, BOV member and recently retired from the faculty at the University of Michigan), Tom Thielke (BS '67, MS '69, VP at UWHC), Jim Wright (MS '77, PhD '83, VP at Infinity Pharmaceuticals), and our very own Dan Rich (PharmSci Emeritus). What an impressive list…congratulations to all and many thanks to the Awards and Citations Committee and to those who submitted nominations. The citations will be awarded during Reunion Weekend coming up in November.
• The School's 125th anniversary was highlighted in the spring 2008 edition of the UW Foundation's Digest. Alum Oscar Rennebohm, as well as John and Leona Sonderegger, received special mention, especially Leona's continuing support for scholarships.
• I'm also pleased to tell you about several recent gifts to the School:
  • The Joseph Gwidt Scholarship Fund was set up by alum and BOV member, Jim Radtke, to honor Joe's extraordinary contributions to the profession of pharmacy.
  • The Morton Family Scholarship Fund was established by Morton Pharmacies to honor alum Peter Morton's leadership role in pharmacy.
  • Alum Marilyn Peltier established a new scholarship fund, the Peltier Hein Family Scholarship.
  • Special note: All three of these are need-based scholarships and so qualify for matching funds from the UW Foundation under a new initiative called Great People, Great Place...something that's just getting launched with meaningful input and support from the UW Faculty Senate.
  • Alum John Merianos also established a new scholarship fund.
  • Two charitable gift annuities were recently set up for the future benefit of the School by alum Roy Kuramoto and his wife, Yemiko, and alum Jim Tingstad and his wife, Phyllis.

Now that's a busy month! Thanks to those who have asked about my root canal. So far, so good, with a second one not required after all! My condolences to others who suffered through this procedure recently as well. Jeanette

P.S.: Don't forget to order your 125th anniversary clothing items. The next order closes on May 23. No shipping costs need to be added if you pick up your order at the School. See Pam French or www.pharmacy.wisc.edu/125th/125th_gear.pdf for more information. All proceeds benefit the PAA Scholarship Fund.