PRESIDENT MASON VISITS COLLEGE
On the afternoon of June 3rd, President Mason visited the College of Pharmacy and took time to visit with faculty, staff, and students.  After enjoying lunch in the Banker Student Activity Center with collegiate and student leaders, President Mason toured the entire building which included Pharmaceutical Services, the Pharmacy Practice Lab, and selected  research laboratories in Pharmaceutics, Medicinal Natural Products Chemistry, and Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy. Her visit ended with a packed open forum that included all faculty and staff.  President Mason gave brief remarks that included her agenda and priorities for the upcoming academic year.  The session concluded with a question and answer session.  Her intent is to visit each college on an annual basis. 

clinical and administrative pharmacy residents recognized
The Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy recognized its residents with a graduation ceremony on June 24, 2008. The guests were welcomed by Bernard Sorofman, PhD, Professor and Head, Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy. Three residents received their Post Graduate Year 1 Pharmacy Resident certificate: Amy E. Van Gorp, PharmD; Sara A. Rietsch, PharmD; and Kristi L. Kavanaugh, PharmD. The residency coordinators for Post Graduate Year 1, Lucinda Buys, PharmD, BCPS and James Hoehns, PharmD, BCPS, were present to congratulate the residents.

Four residents received their PGYI Community Care Pharmacy Practice certificates: Abby Beane, PharmD, Ellen Coughlin, PharmD, Laura Gurnee, PharmD, and Mary Mosher, PharmD. Jay Currie, PharmD, residency coordinator for Post Graduate Year 1 Community Pharmacy Practice, was present at the ceremony as well. A reception to further honor the residents was held following the ceremony.

tom temple honored as ui distinguished alumni
Tom Temple, '77 MS, received the UI Distinguished Alumni Service Award on June 7, 2008 from the UI Alumni Association. For the past 27 years Temple has inspired health care leaders across the state and nation with his dedication to patients and commitment to pharmacy.

With initiatives such as immunization services, patient case management, and standardized pharmacy degrees, Temple has made an impact on the pharmacy profession as a whole and has become a senior state pharmacy leader. He has held one of the pharmacy profession's most critical and influential positions as executive vice president and CEO of the Iowa Pharmacy Association. Temple's expertise is frequently called upon by the state's key policymakers, including the governor, the Department of Human Services, Iowa Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As a loyal supporter of pharmacy education and proud UI alumnus, Temple has served for 20 years as a member of UI College of Pharmacy advisory council.

The Distinguished Alumni Service Award is granted to University of Iowa graduates or former students for significant accomplishments in business or professional life or for distinguished human service to their community, state, or nation.

paul abramowitz appointed as interim associate hospital director
Professor and Assistant Dean Paul Abramowitz, PharmD, has been appointed as interim associate hospital director for hospital based services. This position is effective immediately and will continue at least through Dec. 31, 2008. In addition to oversight of Pharmaceutical Care, Paul will provide senior administrative leadership to Radiology, Laboratory Services, Respiratory Therapy, and Rehabilitation Therapies in his new role. He will report directly to interim chief operating officer Eric Dickson.

Abramowitz joined the College of Pharmacy staff in 1998 as a Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy professor. In the same year, he became Director of Pharmaceutical Care at UI Hospitals and Clinics and is most recently Director and Chief Pharmacy Officer at UI Hospitals and Clinics. He had previously spent 10 years as Director of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics. Abramowitz is a past President of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and currently serves as the organization's treasurer. He recently completed service as chairperson of the Iowa Board of Pharmacy.

college of pharmacy's class of 2008 graduates
The College of Pharmacy Commencement Ceremony was held on Thursday, May 15 at 10:00 a.m. at Hancher Auditorium. Dean Donald E. Letendre, PharmD, welcomed the 100 graduating students and the family and friends who came to witness the culmination of their accomplishments. Class of 2008 President Joshua Bartlett provided opening comments at the ceremony, and the keynote address was given by Jordan Cohen, PhD, Emeritus Dean. The presentation of the graduates was given by Associate Dean Michael Kelly, '73 BS, '88 PharmD, '89 MS, while UI President Sally Mason conferred the degrees. The ceremony was then concluded with closing remarks by Dean Letendre.

The graduation ceremony marked the end of many years of hard work and perseverance. For information on being recognized in your hometown newspaper, visit www.news.uiowa.edu/hometowners.html for more information. The event was videotaped and is available as an archived streaming video. Visit www.its.uiowa.edu/tns/uitvschedule/Commencement.htm to view the video.

Schimmelpfennig, Rosazza receive College of Pharmacy alumni awards
The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy honored two individuals with alumni awards at the college's annual senior and alumni dinner and awards banquet May 14 in Iowa City. Hal Schimmelpfennig received the college's Distinguished Alumnus Award, and John Rosazza was presented with the Honorary Alumnus Award.

Schimmelpfennig graduated from the College of Pharmacy in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Weisbaden, Germany, where he was in charge of the pharmacy at the base's 350-bed hospital. In 1959, Schimmelpfennig was hired as a pharmaceuticals sales representative covering central Ohio for Eli Lilly and Company. His success led to other key management positions with the company in Stockholm, London, South Africa and the Philippines. In 1981, he returned to Indianapolis to serve as director of international marketing for Lilly. Throughout his career he has been an active member of the American Pharmaceutical Association and the Indianapolis Association of Pharmacists, and he has worked with students at Indiana University, Miami University in Ohio and Purdue University. Schimmelpfennig's career has extended beyond the pharmacy profession. He served as the marketing manager for the Pan American games in 1987 and then became marketing manager of the Indianapolis Zoo, where he works today. As throughout his career, he continues to assist on various environmental and civic projects.

Rosazza received bachelor's (1962), master's (1966) and doctoral (1968) degrees from the University of Connecticut. As a doctoral student, he was a National Institute of Health trainee in the first natural products chemistry program in the United States involving organic chemistry, mycology and pharmacognosy. Following a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Wisconsin, Rosazza came to the UI College of Pharmacy in 1969 as a faculty member in the Division of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry. His career at the college includes serving as head the medicinal and natural products chemistry division for 18 years, during which he served as mentor and advisor for 30 doctoral students and 30 postdoctoral or visiting scholars. His research encompassed biocatalysis (the use of natural catalysts or enzymes to cause chemical changes on organic compounds) in organic chemistry, and he and his research colleagues have identified many microorganisms and new biocatalytic reactions. Rosazza established the UI Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing (CBB), a multidepartmental research group that includes 60 faculty members from eight UI departments and one of the leading fermentation and bioprocessing laboratories in the world. In addition, Rosazza has served as a consultant to the National Cancer Institute as well as numerous pharmaceutical and chemical companies. Now a professor emeritus, Rosazza maintains a research laboratory at the CBB.

matt witry receives prestigious presidential graduate fellowship
Years of hard work and studying paid off for Matt Witry. He received the Presidential Graduate Fellowship after being nominated by the College of Pharmacy and selected by a Graduate College committee. Witry is one of only thirty other promising doctoral students who will receive substantial financial aid over the next five years. In exchange for the scholarship, Witry will assist in research or teaching and complete a dissertation by the end of his fifth year. His summers, however, will remain free of mandatory service. Witry will begin research immediately this summer for various projects in the PSE program. William Doucette, PhD, Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy, will be his advisor.

The fellowship is awarded to graduate students with unusually outstanding graduate academic performance. Such indicators include grades, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, previous research experience, and other relevant extracurricular or educational experiences.