The College of Pharmacy National Advisory Board met in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., in October for its annual meeting. The board advises the dean on key issues and assists with the college’s long-term goal setting. Rick Katz directed the meeting as new board chairperson.
Among the board’s top concerns were helping the college recruit and retain top faculty and increasing endowments for faculty researchers and appointed professionals. Rising student tuition costs were also discussed.
Board members represent a wide range of professional interests from across the nation. Mary J. Ryan, vice president for regulatory and government affairs at Medco Health Solutions, and Eric Racine, vice president of U.S. policy & strategic advocacy at Sanofi-Aventis, traveled from New Jersey to attend, while James Chubb of ProPharma Partners journeyed from Colorado. Ken Coit of Coit Financial, Stan Goldenberg of Bravo Pharmacy, and Ira Halpern and Katz, both of ModernHEALTH, made up the West Coast contingent. In attendance from Arizona were Chris Hogan, vice president of pharmacy management at BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona in Phoenix; Charlie Horn, CEO of Scriptsave in Tucson; and, from the college, Dean J. Lyle Bootman and COP Dean Emeritus Jack Cole.
Following the meeting, long-time board member Mark Pulido and his wife, Donna Walker, who reside in Rancho Santa Fe, welcomed the other members to their home for dinner. University President Robert N. Shelton presented the couple with a commemorative book about the College of Pharmacy-Pulido Center, which they helped to establish.