What's up with Phoenix?
Want to know what's going on with the College of Pharmacy's expansion to Phoenix? Wondering what our offices in the building we share with the Translational Genomics Institute are like? Watch for ongoing updates at our new Phoenix blog.In the meantime, here are some of the highlights of the last months.
With the beginning of FY 2008 in July, the Arizona Legislature approved $1.5 million in state funding to expand the College of Pharmacy to the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.
Moreover, in September J. Lyle Bootman, dean, and others from COP accepted an additional $600,000 from the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy during a board meeting in Phoenix.
The college is using the additional funds:
- to open and staff the new facility in downtown Phoenix at TGen
- to purchase state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment to develop a distance learning capability that will link the Tucson and Phoenix campuses
- to attract matching funds from foundations and other sources that will leverage the state's investment in the UA College of Pharmacy.
"We are pleased that the Arizona state legislature agreed with the board that this was a good use of these funds," says Hal Wand, executive director of the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy.
Return to top
25 years in Pharmacy building
Professor Cole outside the college that Jack built
When it opened in 1982, it was the first and only UA building dedicated entirely to pharmacy. At the time of its opening, Jack Cole, who is still a professor here, was dean of the college and J. Lyle Bootman, now dean, was a faculty member.
Send your memories of when the building was young to Ginny Geib for inclusion in the next newsletter.
Return to top
Venom Week draws a crowd
COP and several other organizations hosted an unprecedented conference for venom experts from around the world Sept. 3-7. Venom Week 2007 allowed nearly 200 scientists and healthcare providers to share information and exchange ideas."Tucson was an appropriate spot for such a conference," says Leslie Boyer, medical director for the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, director of the VIPER (Venom Immunochemistry, Pharmacology and Emergency Response) Institute and course director for the Venom Week 2007 conference.
"Venom experts from around the world use the expertise here," Boyer says.
A water monitor named Rowdy was one of the more charismatic
visitors at Venom Week. He was escorted to the event by the
Phoenix Herpetological Society.
Three of the conference's key sponsors were the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, COP's poison center and the VIPER Institute.
A major goal of the conference was to develop international standards for drug selection, dosage and safety for treating bites and stings. "There is an explosion in sciences and how to treat people," says Jude McNally, managing director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center. "We have to take what has been learned in the lab and apply it to the emergency room setting."
Venom Week 2007 garnered significant interest from the news media. It was featured in television stories and on the front page of the Tucson Citizen.
Return to top
Student conference grooms tomorrow's leaders
"Leaders for Tomorrow Must Begin Today"That was the title of Phi Lambda Sigma's leadership development day, an event that encouraged students to embody the catchy phrase.
Students take part in a leadership exercise
The event featured breakout sessions on topics such as leadership types, teamwork and communication, a ropes course and four guest speakers: Suzzane Ippel, a senior manager in the Quickbooks and Quicken Small Business Division at Intuit, Inc.; Crane Davis, a COP alumnus and president of the Arizona Pharmacy Alliance; Bill Jones, program manager for educational development, research and performance improvement in the Southern Arizona Veterans Healthcare System; and Kristina De Los Santos, COP alumna and pharmacy program manager for clinical services and PGY-1 pharmacy residency director at the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.
There were 112 pharmacy students in attendance at leadership day. Kwyn Forbregd, Class of 2009, Phi Lambda Sigma secretary, said the group hopes to include students from all health professions next year.
Return to top
New development director arriving soon
The college has named Rebecca Cole its new development director.Cole, a 1973 graduate of Central Michigan University, has experience with the Oregon State University Foundation and Michigan State University. She comes to COP from The Balser Group in Phoenix, where she was senior consultant for marketing, fundraising and organizational development services to nonprofit organizations like the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation, Montessori in the Park School and GateWay Community College.
Cole begins work on Dec. 1.
Return to top