Monthly Memo - Sept. 5, 2007

Mary Burman

David Jones

James E. Smith

Monthly Memo from the Desk of
Dean Robert O. Kelley
74th Edition
September 5, 2007

A Message from Dean Kelley
I am pleased to announce the appointments of Mary E. Burman, Professor of Nursing, as Interim Dean of the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing (SON) and David L. Jones, Professor of Communication Disorders, as Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. I look forward to the prospect of working closely with these experienced administrative leaders who will bring extensive experience in scholarship that will benefit college faculty.

After receiving her doctoral degree in nursing from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mary joined the SON faculty in 1992. She brings a wealth of administrative experience to her hew position, having served as coordinator of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the college, and Acting Dean of the College for the 2006 fall semester. Mary helped found Laramie's Downtown Clinic, currently serves on its board of  directors and is one of the facility's volunteer nurse practitioners. She has written numerous articles focusing mainly on chronic illness and advanced practice nursing and has published in national journals such as the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Public Health Nursing, and the Journal of Nursing Education. She also serves on the editorial boards of several publications and is among 20 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows for 2007-2010, a prestigious advanced leadership program for nurses in senior executive roles aspiring to lead and shape the future of the U.S. health care system.

After receiving his doctoral degree in speech pathology from the University of Iowa, David spent several years in research and clinical teaching positions in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Indiana University before joining the Division of Communication Disorders in 2001. David is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in speech disorders of individuals with cleft palate, a distinction reflected in his many articles published in journals such as the European Journal of Plastic Surgery, the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, and the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. He has also contributed chapters to other publications and has been an invited presenter at several regional, national, and international conferences. He is active in many professional organizations and received the UW Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award in 2005.

News from the Divisions
School of Pharmacy
Kurt Dolence, Associate Professor of Medicinal and Organic Chemistry, together with his co-researchers Richard T. Mayer and Gabriele E. Mayer from the College of Agriculture, was granted a U.S. patent. Their invention relates to the field of pharmacology and in particular, drug metabolism. More specifically, the invention provides fluorescent substrates useful for measuring N-dealkylase activity directly in real time. Kurt was also recently notified that he had received an extension of the funding for his project "ARS Development of West Nile Diagnostic and Vector Control Chemicals" from the US Department of Agriculture.

Abstracts by Jun Ren, Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology, and Catherine Qun Li, Research Scientist, from the Center for Cardiovascular Research and Alternative Medicine (C-CRAM) have been accepted by the American Heart Association (AHA) for presentation at the AHA's highly competitive national meeting to be held in Orlando in November. Jun was also awarded the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from China with a research monetary award from the Natural Science Foundation of China to study diabetes and heart disease. The award is presented through a Chinese government program to outstanding overseas or international scholars 45 years of age or younger. The purpose of the award is to stimulate collaboration and cooperation between China and scientists who originate from China and covers all global disciplines. Thirty-five recipients are selected worldwide based on scientific merit, followed by an oral defense on both scientific and social issues. It is worthy of note that Jun's award is the first ever granted to a Wyoming researcher. C-CRAM also announced its impressive accomplishments for fiscal year 2006: Its members published 46 journal articles and addressed eight national and international conferences.
Kem Krueger, Associate Professor of Pharmacoeconomics and Health Outcomes Research, and Linda Gore Martin, Associate Professor of Social/Administrative Pharmacy, have just competed a busy year. The two conducted a project—"Wyoming Healthcare Commission Clinical Trials Study"—and their chapter—"Critical Appraisal of Evidence Derived from Pharmacoeconomics Studies"—was included in the new book Contemporary Information: An Evidence-based Approach. Kem and Linda were the only outside contributors to the text.

William A. Zellmer, M.P.H., Deputy Executive Vice President of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, will be the keynote speaker for the annual Otis L. Hoy Memorial Seminar to be held September 7th at 2 p.m. in Classroom 129. Mr. Zellmer's lecture—"Inventing the Future of Pharmacy Practice"—qualifies for continuing education (C.E.) credits and is free and open to the public. A reception in his honor will be held immediately following the lecture in the surge area adjacent to classroom 427 of the Health Sciences Center. To register for C.E. credits online, please visit UW Conferences and Institutes at http://outreach.uwyo.edu/conferences/calendar. Then scroll down to UW School of Pharamcy Fall CE and click on the green "Register Here" button. Registrations can also be made by calling 1-877-733-3618, ext. 1. The Otis Hoy Memorial Seminar is part of the annual Pharmacy Weekend. For a complete schedule of events, please visit www.uwyo.edu/pharmacy and click on "Upcoming Events."

WWAMI Medical Education Program
This year, WWAMI welcomes its eleventh class with the following 11 students: Meghan Driscoll, Amer Salam, Leah Selby, and Carol Wright from Cheyenne; Lisa Hill from Newcastle; Samantha Micelena from Buffalo; Kristopher Schamber from Green River; Rebecca Thompson from Wheatland; Tyler Weaver from Casper; Erica Nees from Evanston; and Benjamin Widener from Big Horn. These students completed a three-week anatomy course taught by Dwight Phillips, M.D., from Montana State University; Dan Graney, M.D., from the University of Washington School of Medicine; and Don Swiatek, M.D. of Laramie, before the official school year began.

Local pediatrician Kent Kleppinger, M.D., cooked some of his famous barbeque for the August 15th welcoming picnic held at Laramie historic train depot. WWAMI students and their families, preceptors, faculty, and administrators gave rave reviews for Dr. Kleppinger's cooking talents.

College News
Zhou Wenzhong, China's Ambassador to the US, reserved time on the morning of August 31st to have breakfast with the college's China scholars, faculty, staff, and graduate students studying, researching, or teaching about China and issues pertaining to China. Ambassador Wenzhong was on campus as the featured speaker of the Graduate School's Distinguished Lecture Series.

Student Affairs
The residency certification process for WY-DENT, our new dental contract program with the University of Nebraska and Creighton University, has been established and is going well.

The college will welcome its new freshmen on September 12th at 5 p.m. and during its second all-college student, faculty, and staff barbeque on Friday, September 14th between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. or until the food runs out. We had a great time last year, so please plan to come. You'll find us on the northwest side of the building.

Plan now to attend "Focus on the Healthy Child: An Interprofessional Model" being held Friday, September 21st from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturday, September 22nd from 7:30 a.m. to noon in the second floor ballroom of the University of Wyoming Student Union. The featured speaker, Diane D. Allensworth, Ph.D., R.N., served as a health education professor at Kent State University and as the Executive Director of the American School Health Association. Currently, she is the Education Sector Leader for the Division of Private and Public Partnerships within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the seminar, there will be a pair of "showcase rotations," during which speakers from around the state will address a variety of topics on a number of topics and participants will be able to choose which topics or speakers they wish to hear. Another unique feature of the conference is an "Open Space World Café," where speakers are spaced around the room and participants are able to flow from one to the next, staying for as long or short a time as they like. To register online, please visit http://outreach.uwyo.edu/conferences/calendar.

The Office of Student Affairs hosts representatives from many schools who come to campus to visit with our students and promote their professional programs. Following is this semester's schedule:

September 6—Dennis McKearin, M.D., Associate Dean of the Medical Scientist Training Programs at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, will speak about the university's medical, doctoral, and medical scientist training programs.
September 18—Debra Dickerson, Ph.D., will talk about Eastern Washington University's physical therapy program.
September 25—Katie Pearce, M.D., will speak about Des Moines University's osteopathic, medical, podiatry, public health, and physician assistant and health administration programs.
October 3—Henry Sondheimer, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Admissions at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, will discuss the university's medical school.
October 8—Carol Teitz, Ph.D., will talk about the University of Washington's School of Medicine.
For more information, please contact preprof.hs@uwyo.edu.

Pandemic Flu Preparedness Conference
On September 6th, the college and its co-sponsors—the Wyoming Department of Health, the Wyoming Business Alliance, the Wyoming Business Council, and the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security—will host "Pandemic Flu: It IS Your Business" at the Parkway Plaza in Casper. According to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control, it is not a matter of if a pandemic will strike but when it will strike. Since a pandemic can have major effects on global travel, trade, tourism, food, consumption, and financial markets, the conference is designed to help Wyoming business and medical professionals prepare and thereby minimize the results of an outbreak in the state. For details and registration information, please visit http://outreach.uwyo.edu/conferences/calendar and scroll down to Pandemic Flu Conference or call 877-733-3618 ext 1.

Social Work
James Smith, Associate Professor, was invited to participate in "Successful Aging: Enhancing the Quality of Life" held at Harris Manchester College at Oxford University. During the round table, Jim presented "Internet and Email Utilization by a Nursing Home Resident: A Single Subject Design Exploratory Study for Improved Quality of Life for the Elderly."

Cheyenne Family Residency Program
Ronald Malm, D.O., Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Clinical Director of UW's Family Medical Residency Program in Cheyenne, is one of 59 physicians nationwide who graduated from the 2006-2007 National Institute for Program Director Development I: Fundamentals fellowship sponsored by the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD). Ron attended three four-day instructional and networking sessions and completed two longitudinal projects—a scholarly investigation, as well as a finance inquiry, both of which were residency-specific and under the advisorship of an experienced program director.

The fellowship provides family physician educators the opportunity to enhance and develop leadership skills in order to become better prepared as effective directors of residency programs. Former residency directors, as well as individuals from medical or professional organizations, lead enrichment courses on organizational leadership, management skills, accreditation programs, finance and budgeting, faculty development, medical staff issues, and resident development. The program is designed for those individuals with fewer than four years of program director experience, directors of developing programs, or physicians planning to assume the role of program director.

The AFMRD, located in Leawood, KA, is a national association that promotes excellence in family medicine graduate education. The organization represents family medicine residency directors, develops resident education, provides networking, and enhances administrative operation of family medicine residencies.

Kinesiology and Health
Brandon Alderman, Assistant Professor, is looking forward to the publication of his article "Seasonality in Children's Pedometer-measured Physical Activity Levels" in an upcoming issue of Quarterly for Exercise and Sport.
Mark Byra, Division Head, was invited to present "Spectrum Research—Old, New, Where to Now?" at the 1st International Forum on Spectrum Teaching Styles: A Reunion and a Review to be held in Halkidiki, Greece later this month. He will also speak about "Tracking R-PETE from 1980 to 2000: Research on Programmatic Change, Participants' Perspectives, and Control of PETE Programs" during the Historic Traditions & Future Directions in Research on Teaching and Teacher Education in Physical Education Conference to be held in Pittsburgh in October. Jayne Jenkins, Associate Professor, and Tristan Wallhead, Assistant Professor, will also be active during the conference. Jayne will present two papers: "Peer Coaching—Observation as Knowledge" and "Developing Learning Communities in Pres-service Teacher Education Through Peer Coaching;" and Tristan will speak about "Didactics as a Research Methodology for Understanding the Teaching-learning Process."

Gary Werhonig, Associate Lecturer, taught a course, "Introduction to Exercise Physiology," to 11 high school students attending the Summer 2007 University of Wyoming School Institute. The course exposed the students to topics such as cardiac rehabilitation, exercise prescription, and fitness testing.

Congratulations are in order for Tena Hoyle, Assistant Professor, who was selected as an American School Health Association (ASHA) Fellow for Summer 2007. Selection criteria for fellow status include 10 consecutive years of and current ASHA membership; evidence of substantive and consistent leadership and service on ASHA committees, councils, sections, or boards; and leadership and service to the field of school health, including national, state, and district organizations.
Our students are a continuing source of pride for the division. Janalee Dayton from Laramie, along with her faculty mentors, will present "Energy Intake Influenced by Internet-based Physical Activity Program" at the American Alliance for Health, Recreation, and Dance National Convention being held in Fort Worth in April, 2008. Nine of our physical education graduates accepted teaching positions in schools across Wyoming, as well as in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado; Gering, Nebraska; Peoria, Arizona; and Frankfort, Illinois. Five of our graduating students will join the division as graduate assistants.
Beth Young from Laramie, along with Brandon Alderman, attended a workshop on "Impedance Cardiography and Heart Rate Variability" co-sponsored by Ohio State University and Mindware Technologies and held in Columbus, Ohio.

Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing (SON)
The SON annual faculty/staff retreat was held Tuesday, August 21st, at Laramie's Hampton Inn. During the retreat, faculty and staff created a list of teaching, scholarship, and service priorities for the upcoming year and began discussing the school's next five-year plan. Those attending also welcomed several new faculty members: Dana Murphy-Parker from New York has been with the school since January as an assistant lecturer in the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program; Laura Meloche from Rock Springs will work with the undergraduate on-campus BSN program; Kristy Nielson, also from Rock Springs, will work with the accelerated BSN program; and Janice Stephens, the new endowed chair with Sheridan College, will work with the Leadership Education to Advance Practice program and the RN/BSN programs.

The Nightingale Center for Nursing Scholarship, in conjunction with the Wyoming Nurses' Association, will coordinate the 4th Wyoming Nursing Summit to be held in Sheridan September 20th and 21st. The summit consistently draws nurse leaders and health-related professionals from across the state to address nursing needs in Wyoming and develop strategic solutions. Two national speakers will participate.

During May, Penelope Caldwell, Assistant Lecturer, and students Deborah Shoop and Renee Sherik from Laramie spent two weeks in Nicaragua visiting nursing schools, clinics, hospitals, and birthing houses. They also taught lifesaving skills to 30 midwives. The trip was funded by the SON and UW's International Studies. Non-Government Organizations also contributed to the funding and organized the midwifery teaching.

Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007