Message from the Dean
Dear Alumni and Friends,
For those of you who don’t know me personally, I’m what is known in academic circles as a "loyalist." I’m an alumnus – Class of 1976. I returned to the College in 1979 as a clinical pharmacist in cardiology, and since then, I’ve held almost every title in the College – and now Dean.
Upon the advice of the College’s elected Executive Committee and its Administrative Officers (Deans and Department Heads), Provost Michael Tanner asked me to serve as Interim Dean after Dean Rosalie Sagraves returned to the faculty in the late Spring. Frankly, I was honored. A search committee was formed with myself being named Dean in late Spring of 2007. However, during all of this transition, we have not been sitting still. With the support of our faculty and alumni, we are making aggressive plans in a number of areas. Just a few are listed below:
Expansion and Regionalization: The University of Illinois College of Pharmacy has always been the flagship college of pharmacy in the State and we aim to keep it that way. In order to meet the pharmacy needs of the citizens of Illinois and better reflect the State as a whole, we plan to expand our enrollment beyond our current building and geographic location. Although a number of hurdles exist, plans are being made to create a regional campus in Rockford.
Research: There are currently 100 colleges of pharmacy in the US; this past year, the UIC College of Pharmacy ranked 4th in research among these colleges. As an alum, I am certainly proud of this fact as it reflects well on my "academic pedigree" from the College. The College has a number of highly-visible, well-established research programs, including those devoted to drug discovery from natural sources, mechanisms of anti-cancer drugs, tuberculosis research, dosage form development, and finding drugs to combat potential bioterrorism. Recently and under the direction of Dr. Glen Schumock, the College was designated as a national DECIDE Center - putting us on the map for a new area: pharmacoeconomic outcomes research. To remain highly regarded in the area of research, we continuously strive to recruit (and retain) highly capable faculty as well as build and remodel state-of-the-art research facilities.
Improvement of Physical Facilities: We are putting as many resources as we can possibly muster towards improving our current building to provide superior student experiences in an enhanced learning environment. For those of you who fondly remember the old "dispensing lab" (read charcoal capsules) on the second floor of the College…well, you can have it! It’s still there and so are the phones with rotary dials. I have to laugh when students commonly ask, "What are those?" But, be that as it may, we are continuing to devote significant resources to the improvement of these outdated facilities. This year, we are remodeling several large laboratories and transforming the old "simulation laboratory" into a modern pharmacy practice teaching facility, which should be completed in early 2007, thanks to the gracious gifts of several alumni. We also started to fix the escalators (thank goodness).
We are also looking ahead to the future. A new building addition to be constructed adjacent to our current facility is planned and ranks high among the University’s capital budget priorities. This project has not yet "made its way" through Springfield, but we are optimistic.
These are just some of the things that are going on. I want to thank everyone who has personally voiced their kind support of me in this new role. And, I look forward to working with you all. If I can be of assistance, or if you would just like to share an opinion or suggestion, please email me at jbauman@uic.edu.
- Jerry Bauman