Monthly Memo - June 3

Monthly Memo from the Desk of
Dean Robert O. Kelley

82nd Edition

June 3, 2008

A Message from Dean Kelley
As you probably know, Marcia and I will soon leave Laramie for Grand Forks where I will assume the duties of President of the University of North Dakota. Our attachment to UW and our many ties to Laramie, the college, and the state made our de

ision to move extremely difficult, but we are now looking ahead to new challenges and opportunities. Beverly Sullivan, Professor of Pharmacy Practice, will assume the duties of interim dean of the college while an international search for the next dean is underway. Dr. Sullivan is an outstanding researcher who is valued for her leadership and collegial relations with faculty, staff, students, and university administration. We can all look forward to the college's continued contributions to the health and social services of the state and its citizens.

Did You Know?
You will soon receive a letter from Dean Kelley asking you to consider a gift to the College of Health Sciences Excellence Fund. Giving to the Excellence Fund is a wonderful way to thank the university and honor the college. Each time an individual gives to the Excellence Fund, a student, faculty member, or staff person receives the opportunity to expand his/her opportunity to learn and thereby to excel. To those who have already made a gift to the college this year, thank you very much for your commitment to, pride in, and support of the college. To those who have not yet donated, this is a great time to demonstrate your appreciation as an alum or a friend. You may also consider a gift to the College of Health Sciences Dean's Alumni and Friends Scholarship Fund.

News from the Divisions

Pharmacy
Jun Ren, Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology, and Bruce Culver, Professor of Pharmacology and Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences, are stepping down as leaders of the Center for Cardiovascular Research and Alternative Medicine (C-CRAM) but will remain active members of group they founded in 2004. During the last four years, C-CRAM has been remarkably productive with its numerous research grants, publications, presentations, and patents. The school, the college, and the university appreciate the dedication of Jun and Bruce and are pleased that Ji Li, Assistant Professor of Biochemical Physiology and Pharmacology, has accepted the C-CRAM directorship and that Sreejayan Nair, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, will serve as the associate director.

Congratulations to Olalekan Ajayi, a recent Pharm.D. graduate from Nigeria, who was named one of four UW Internationalism Awardees. The award recognizes Olalekan's efforts to help internationalize the university and includes a $500 stipend and a medal.

Kyle Mills, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, is co-investigator at Swedish Medical Center for a multi-national study of patients with methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) pneumonia. The study, which is sponsored by Pfizer, Inc., will enroll approximate 1,200 MRSA patients in many sites throughout the world to study the comparative effectiveness of several drug therapies.

Commencement 

Commencement is a memorable time for graduates and their families and friends.

May 10th was a banner day for 229 graduates of the college who can look forward to rewarding careers in the helping professions of health and social services. Commencement was also a time to hear an address from Senator John A. Barrasso and for the college to recognize its outstanding faculty and staff. Tristan Wallhead, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Health, received the New Investigator Award, and Ann Marie Hart, Assistant Professor of Nursing, received the Outstanding Researcher Award. Todd Corbett, Associate Lecturer of Communication Disorders, received the Outstanding Teacher Award; Carol Macnee, Professor of Nursing, received the Meritorious Service Award; Tami Benham-Deal, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Health, received the Innovations in Teaching Award; and Outstanding Staff Awards were presented to Claire Hitchcock of the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing and Bonnie Zhao of the School of Pharmacy. Jenny Garcia, Coe Library's Medical Staff Librarian received a Friend of the College Award.

Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities (WIND)

Wyoming law enforcement officials can now receive training to identify and prosecute cases of elder abuse.

The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) a three-year training grant to increase the identification and prosecution of abuse and sexual assault of older individuals or individuals with disabilities. Through the Wyoming Adult Protection Training project, co-principal investigators Deborah Fleming, clinical professor of medical education and public health, and Sandra Root-Elledge, assistant lecturer in WIND, initiated contracts with partners in Fremont County to establish a pilot train-the-trainer site. Trainings were initiated to help members of the judicial system better address elder abuse by providing training for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges. Responses to the initial 64 hours of training for law enforcement officers in Fremont County were overwhelmingly positive and prompted comments such as "There are a lot of resources out there that should and need to be used" and "This training helped my understanding and knowledge of elder abuse." The first statewide training for detectives will be held in Casper July 31-August 1, 2009, to enhance their skills in conducting interviews that preserve the dignity of elders, while recognizing challenges and appropriate strategies in investigating abuse and financial exploitation. The second statewide training, to be held September 9-10, 2009, in Lander, will be open to any Wyoming law enforcement officer and will provide information and strategies to more effectively recognize and investigate elder abuse cases. For more information, please contact Nance Shelsta, project coordinator in Fremont County (307-856-9200 or shelsta@wyoming.com).

Cathy Binger, Ph.D., last year's Alumna of the Year for the Division of Communication Disorders, will present "Low Tech AugCom Solutions for People with Severely Disabilities" on July 28th. The clinic is designed to improve basic communication skills of individuals with significant cognitive impairments. During the sessions, two clinics will focus on identifying solutions to alleviate communication frustrations through the use of augmentative and alternative communication devices. The morning meeting will feature interventions for children; the afternoon segment will concentrate on assistance for adults. For more information, please contact Mary Fick Monteith (307-766-6187 or mmonteit@uwyo.edu).

A complete list of the devices available for short-term loan through the WIND Assistive Technology Resource (WATR) Program is now available on line at www.wy.at4all.com. Reutilization is being encouraged; in the category "List Your Own AT Items," many discarded, personally-owned devices may be listed for sale of giveaway. Another category features a list of previously loaned equipment now available for sale. Also offered on the site is information about financing purchases.

Kinesiology and Health
Many kinesiology and health graduates have been admitted to the professional graduate schools of their choice. Brian Allred from Lovell, Nicki Nelson, and Jennifer Lambert from Laramie, Taryn May from Harrisburg, Nebraska, John Kindle from Riverton, Jesse Gefroh from Douglas, and Jillian Nelson from Wright will attend physical therapy schools. Holly Schoch from Laramie will enter dental school in the fall; Derek Ewell from Lyman, Wyoming, will study osteopathic medicine; and Catherine Kennedy from Evanston and Jami Jares from Basin will attend occupational therapy school. Anna Davenport, Alex Blake, and Megan Schifflett from Laramie, Garrett Havig from Evanston, and Ryan Dean from Kemmerer will enter graduate schools in the fall. We wish these fine students good luck and feel sure of their success.

Communication Disorders

Stacey Powell, left, and Krisztina Zajdo during Undergraduate Research Day.

Stacey Powell from Laramie, a two-time recipient of a National Science Foundation EPSCoR Undergraduate Research Fellowship, presented the results of her work in the lab of Krisztina Zajd at this year's Undergraduate Research Day. Stacey has worked with Krisztina to uncover processes of speech sound modeling by mothers of young children and has found that mothers systematically manipulate their speech timing when producing long versus short vowels, thereby guiding their children toward the production of more adult-like phonological vowel length patterns. These results will be applied to remediating speech timing disorders in clients with various types of speech limitations. Amanda-Jeanne Woods from Roberts, Montana, and Christine DeGeorge from Phoenix, Arizona, contributed to the study by participating in data selection and management and taking acoustic measurements.

Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing
Norma Wilkerson, Associate Professor, was recently honored at a retirement open house in recognition of her 25 years of outstanding service to the school, the University of Wyoming, and the state of Wyoming. During her tenure at UW, Norma amassed numerous professional honors and awards for teaching and superior advising. She has multiple publications to her credit and has received numerous grants in the areas of maternal-child health and substance abuse prevention. She has also mentored faculty, nurse educator students, and undergraduate students at all levels. Norma's sage advice and passion for student success will be deeply missed.

The 2008 Accelerated BSN (BRAND) program students began their studies early this month. BRAND students have non-nursing baccalaureate degrees such as biology, education, gerontology, Spanish, sports and exercise physiology, and English that will greatly enrich their nursing experience. They will finish their studies to become registered nurses in 15 months instead of the typical 21 months for the basic nursing program.

The first class of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program graduated in December. All have now taken their national certifying exam, and the PMHNP faculty is pleased to announce that the program has a 100 percent pass rate. Hearty congratulations are in order for these students who serve as fine examples of the quality of the school's graduate program.

Pamala Larsen, Professor, presented "PublishingAdding Value to the Profession" as part of Research Day during Nurses Week at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins.

Student Affairs
It's a pleasure to announce winners of this year's college scholarships. We wish these outstanding students well and extend our thanks to the generous donors.

Lance Anderson, Matthew Anderson, and Steven Harmon received both the Delta Dental Plan of Wyoming Scholarship and the Wyoming Dental Association Scholarship. Lance, who grew up on a dairy farm in Douglas, will attend the University of Louisville School of Dentistry in Kentucky where he will pursue a specialty in endodontics. Matthew will attend Creighton University School of Dentistry under the WYDENT dental contract program. He is completing his degree in kinesiology and health promotion with a minor in management and was actively involved in community service in his hometown of Lovell and during his time on the UW campus. Steven is from Green River. He values hard work, service, and preparation and has an opportunity to practice in Rock Springs after his graduation from Creighton under the WYDENT dental contract. Holly, who is currently completing her master's degree in kinesiology and health, grew up in Evanston. She will attend the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry after finishing her research on the effects of exercise on cognition in older adults.

Five students received medical scholarships. Maggie Diller from Cheyenne received her degree in kinesiology and health, while completing minors in chemistry and Spanish. In addition to being an outstanding student, she has been a member of UW's cross country and track teams for four years and ranks among the university's top five in both the mile and 1,500 meter runs. With the help of the L. Floyd Clarke Scholarship, Maggie will attend medical school in the fall at the University of Arizona. Four of the five recipients will begin medical school at the University of Washington through the WWAMI program. Kristen Horner from Big Horn received both the Lawrence J. Cohen, M.D. Scholarship and the William and Anna Wilson Scholarship and was an active volunteer with hospice and Laramie's Downtown Clinic during her years at UW. Christopher Blevins, the recipient of the Nancy E. and George Potekhen Scholarship, is from Powell. He participated in Project Hope on a three-week medical mission to Belize, volunteered at the Downtown Clinic, and served as a teaching assistant for anatomy. Erin Hammer from Lander also received the Nancy E. and George Potekhen Scholarship. She received her degree in journalism and was a member of UW's Nordic Ski Team. Doug Watt from Upton received both the William and Anna Wilson Scholarship and the Dr. Paul J. Hildreth Memorial Scholarship. He has been active as a UW tutor and research assistant and volunteers with hospice and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Seven undergraduate students received college scholarships. Danielle Bamberg in prenursing from Wilmington, Massachusetts; Achjonta Blanton in social work from Aurora, Colorado; Taylor Burke in prenursing from Cheyenne; and Pamela Darrow in prepharmacy from Powell received Marjorie I. Andersen scholarships. Zach Peters, a premed student from Buffalo, received the Virgil Thorpe Scholarship, which is awarded by the deans of nursing and pharmacy and the director of medical education. Premed students Chase Stonecipher from Riverton and Kimberly Cranford from Alpine received George and Nancy Potekhen scholarships.
 

Posted on Tuesday, June 03, 2008