This Week@WesternU, April 30-May 4, 2012

2012 Commencement

The 31st Annual Commencement Exercises for Western University of Health Sciences will be held on May 17-18, 2012 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena, Calif. Here are some important reminders to graduates regarding commencement. Please forward to friends and family as appropriate.

Graduate Reminders

Commencement website: The commencement website at http://www.westernu.edu/commencement/ has all kinds of useful information including parking maps, directions, and instructions. Please pull all necessary information from the site before heading to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium!

Live webcast: We are pleased to announce that the commencement ceremonies will be webcast live at http://www.westernu.edu/commencement/cs_webcast.php. Please let those who are not attending know, so they can watch you online!

Guest Reminders

Doors Close Early: The front doors will close at 9:20 for AM ceremonies and 2:50 for PM ceremonies and will re-open after the processional, invocation and national anthem. It’s essential that all of your guests are seated in the auditorium prior to the doors closing. If your friends/relatives tend to be late… you might tell them it starts 30 minutes earlier.

Tickets Required (for CGN/CAHP and GCBS/COMP ceremonies): Remember your tickets, as all attendees must have a ticket to enter the auditorium!

College of Allied Health Professions

Thursday, May 17, 9:30 a.m.

Keynote Speaker: Devorah A. Lieberman, PhD

President, University of La Verne

College of Pharmacy

Thursday, May 17, 3 p.m.

Keynote Speaker: Michael Maddux

Executive Director of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy

College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific

Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences

Friday, May 18, 9:30 a.m.

Keynote Speaker: H. Roger Hadley, MD

Professor of Surgery, Loma Linda University Medical Center

College of Veterinary Medicine

Friday, May 18, 3 p.m.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Temple Grandin

Announcements

Chief Administrative Officer of Patient Care Centers

In consultation with the leadership of Western University of Health Sciences and Samaritan Health Services, we are pleased to announce formally that Mark Kalmar of Samaritan Health Services will assume the role of Chief Administrative Officer of Patient Care Centers for Western University of Health Sciences. He will have the responsibility for administrative control and management of all clinical services that generate revenue sources (i.e., including contracts for clinical services provide at sites off-campus by our clinical faculty) for the University’s two patient care centers (Pomona and Rancho Cucamonga). He will directly report to the Provost of Western University of Health Sciences and to the President of Samaritan Health Services in this capacity. The Chief Administrative Officer will also work in concert with the chief clinical officers of all sections and services in these two locations.

Mark brings significant experience and knowledge to practice management and we are confident that in concert with the resources of Samaritan Health Services we can develop a very successful practice management model that will serve the University and its patients and students well.

PCC Facebook page

The Patient Care Center Facebook page needs fans. Please “Like” the PCC at http://www.facebook.com/WesternUPCC.

Towne & Gown Golf Classic

WesternU invites the public to an exciting day of golf to benefit student scholarships.

The Towne & Gown Golf Classic, benefiting the University Scholarship Fund, will be held on June 18, 2012 at the Glendora Country Club, 310 Amelia Ave., Glendora, Calif.

Registration and lunch starts at 11 a.m. followed by a noon shotgun start. Golf Ball Drop from the driving range will happen at 11:45. The owner of the golf ball that lands in the hole or closest to the pin will be the winner of the 50/50 prize. The Hole-in-One prize is a 2012 Cadillac, sponsored by Symes Cadillac of Pasadena. Reception dinner and awards ceremony will follow the event.

Cost is $175 per golfer or $700 per foursome. Proceeds will benefit the University Scholarship Fund thanks to the generosity of T.F. Chen, DDS. Deadline to enter is June 11, 2012.

For more information or to sign up, please contact Susan Terrazas at 909-706-3476, email sterrazas@westernu.edu, or Austin Braunwalder at 909-469-8495, email abraunwalder@westernu.edu.

Click here to view the website.

Help Wipe out AIDS, support Health’s Angels of WesternU

A group of WesternU students, staff and faculty will ride their bicycles 545 miles during the AIDS/LifeCycle, June 3-9, 2012, from San Francisco to Los Angeles in an effort to help wipe out AIDS. The team, Health’s Angels of WesternU, was organized by College of Optometry third-year student Jen Buell and her husband, Trevor Buckley, a master’s student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Also on the team are first-year optometry students Brian Walton and Aaron Peterson; Bennett McAllister, OD, Chief of Primary Care Optometry; Steven Friedrichsen, DDS, Dean, College of Dental Medicine; Elizabeth Schilling, DVM, Assistant Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine; and Cassie Wright Jr., Director of Information Systems, Dental Center. Check out this link http://www.tofighthiv.org/goto/HealthsAngels to learn about supporting Health’s Angels team. Click on their names to read about their individual stories. Their team goal is to raise $40,000. Each rider is required to raise $3,000.

From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:

Kudos on accomplishments

WesternU was well represented at WASC’s 2012 Academic Research Conference April 18-20, 2012 in Costa Mesa, Calif.

COMP Chief Technology Officer Scott Helf, DO, MSIT, presented “Learner Analytics Via the Cloud: Sophisticated Statistics Made Easy” with Terence Ma, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs and Information Services, California Northstate University College of Medicine.

WesternU Research Analysts Neil Patel, PhD, Delia Padilla Kallemeyn, MA, and En-Hsien Liu, PhD, and Data Technician/Administrative Assistant Heather Simmons, from the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, presented “Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How: Student Study Strategies.”

WesternU Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness Juan Ramirez, PhD, presented “Assessing Effectiveness in Student Affairs: Strategies from Three Graduate-Only Institutions” with Meiling Tang, Director, Institutional Research and Assessment, Touro University-California and Jeanette Baez, Institutional Researcher, Claremont Graduate University.

Click here to view the program.

COMP-Northwest students and their mentor Dr. Brion Benninger, representing the Department of Medical Anatomical Sciences, Lebanon, Ore., combined to present seven research projects at the 2012 International Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego, Calif., which is the largest comprehensive science conference in the world. The projects included historical, educational, basic and clinical science research. All of the students were praised for their professionalism and quality of research presented. Dr. Brion Benninger would like to formally thank Vince Whiting for his generous financial contribution, which enabled COMP-Northwest students to present their research at the EB conference. Click here to read a full account of their activities and accomplishments.

Susan Melvin, DO, a 1984 COMP graduate, has been named the Chief Medical Officer at Long Beach Memorial, among the West’s two largest hospital campuses. Click here to read the full story.

Webinar

Lony C. Castro, MD, FACOG, COMP Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will present on the webinar panel “Labor Induction Trends in the County of San Bernardino: The Obstetric Provider’s Role” on Friday, May 4, 2012. Click here for more information. Click here to register: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RWGSR9F.

From the College of Allied Health Professions:

Department of Physical Therapy Education News

Department of Physical Therapy Education Assistant Professor Dr. Janet Konecne is no stranger to being a volunteer, and in 2012 her efforts are being recognized. Konecne was one of five women recognized on Thursday, April 26, 2012 with the Annie Anaheim Accolade Award, which honors volunteers for exceptional service to the city of Anaheim in the areas of civic improvement, culture, education and philanthropy. Click here to read the full story.

From the College of Pharmacy:

Kudos on accomplishments

Dr. Arezoo Campbell, collaborating with the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands, published the following: Cassee FR, Campbell A, Boere AJ, McLean SG, Duffin R, Krystek P, Gosens I, Miller MR. The biological effects of subacute inhalation of diesel exhaust following addition of cerium oxide nanoparticles in atherosclerosis-prone mice. Environ Res. 2012 Apr 14. Click here to view the article.

Dr. Eric Gupta and his team from APhA-ASP, as well as faculty volunteers, conducted the Interprofessional Health Fair held on WesternU’s Esplanade & HEC on Saturday, April 14, 2012. Students from eight different colleges on campus performed blood pressure, blood glucose, BMI, osteoporosis and vision screenings interprofessionally. Several Pharmacy student clubs (CSHP, Rho Chi, AMCP) and clubs from different colleges (including American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and Asian American Health Professionals Student Association) participated in this truly interprofessional event.

This was a Target sponsored event. APhA-ASP received a $6,000 grant from Target to host a volunteer event for WesternU students to serve the community. APhA-ASP Chapter President Linda Danh deserves special kudos for writing the grant, and coordinating the volunteers for the event.

A total of 260 patients were screened by 203 volunteers, including 10 faculty and preceptors: Eric Gupta, Rudolf Mireles, Patrick Chan and Micah Hata from the College of Pharmacy; Nancy Nielsen-Brown from the College of Allied Health Professions, Department of Physician Assistant Education; Michael Seffinger and Richard Sugerman from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific; Kristy Remick-Waltman and Maryke Neiberg from the College of Optometry; and Meighan Merono, PharmD/Target preceptor.

Family Practice Medication Therapeutic Management Collaborative Program

Doctors and pharmacists can learn a lot from each other, especially when it comes to managing patient medications and preventing medication errors. Drug therapy has gotten so complex that the Institute of Medicine found in a 2006 report that at least 1.5 million Americans are sickened, injured or killed annually by their prescription drugs.

To help with this intricate drug management issue, the College of Pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif., is collaborating with preceptors Dr. Bryn Henderson and Pharmacist R. Wayne Blackburn to create the Family Practice Medication Therapeutic Management (MTM) Collaborative Program. Click here to read the full story.

From the College of Podiatric Medicine:

Kudos on accomplishments

Lester J. Jones, DPM, MSEd, has been appointed to the Special Medical Advisory Group (SMAG) that advises the Secretary of Veteran Affairs. This two-year appointment began in April 2012. Prior to his appointment as Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Podiatric Medicine, he was the Chief of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery and Associate Chief of Staff for Quality at the Greater Los Angeles VA. His recognized leadership in academic administration, clinical education, and quality improvement has prepared him well for this position in serving the nation’s veterans.

From University Advancement:

Alumni Scholarships

On April 20, the WesternU Alumni Association awarded the second of two annual $1,000 scholarships to Helena Tzou, OD ‘14, during the College of Optometry’s Honors Day. The Association established an endowment several years ago to fund this scholarship for humanistic, caring and dependable WesternU students who both excel academically and exemplify the qualities of an engaged alumnus/a through their extracurricular involvement; but this is this first year these annual scholarships are being awarded. The Association’s first 2012 scholarship was presented to Stephen Kang, PharmD ’14, at the College of Pharmacy’s Honors Day on April 6.