FYI: Sept. 9, 2009

Students write to decisionmakers
Senator Kyl, Representative Giffords and the Arizona Daily Star are among those about to hear from future pharmacists. As debate swirls about healthcare reform, about 30 students took time Sept. 8 to write to members of Congress and local news outlets to tell them about the important role pharmacists play in healthcare delivery. Sarah Girardot, Class of 2012, organized the event for the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacy chapter. She’s shown here with the 50 or so letters penned by students.

COP tiptoes onto social sites
Slightly more than 100 folks are now fans of The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Facebook page and about the same number are following COP on Twitter. The college began tweeting this summer and quietly posted a Facebook page just recently. Both enterprises are directed mostly to alumni—but, of course, future alumni (i.e., current students), faculty and staff are welcome, too, as are any friends, whether or not you have official ’Cat credentials. We hope you’ll join the conversations:

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/UACollegeofPharmacy

Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/UAPharmacy

Check out poison center’s blog
Three staffers from the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center officially became bloggers over the summer, too. They are contributing to POISONology, a section on the health blog sponsored by Tucson’s KVOA television station called Health 101. Sharing writing responsibilities are Keith Boesen, interim managing director; Ken Fey, certified poison information specialist; and Liz Barta, poison center educator. They’re covering all sorts of topics—just as they do when answering the poison hotline or giving presentations. Check out their work at http://blogs.kvoa.com/health/?page_id=1173&blog=60 And tell your friends to read, too.

All about COP
The College of Pharmacy presented its 2008-2009 report of activities to the provost of the university, as required, recently. The annual report addresses how the college contributes to the strategic goals of The University of Arizona, and is compiled from reports from department heads, center directors and others in the college. The full report is posted under College Operations on the Governance page of the COP Web site.

Posted Sept. 9, 2009