Gala Preparations: Week of February 8th

Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,

Happy Friday! It’s been another busy week at Salus with many of you getting ready for mid-terms and other fun exams. 

The American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) is selling “eye candy grams” outside the café all week. Sign up to send an “eye candy gram” to your Salus Valentine.   Proceeds support AOSA activities that benefit many students.

The Salus Awards Gala will be held later this evening at Normandy Farms in Blue Bell, Pa. I know that Tanis and I are looking forward to attending the event that honors many of our faculty and staff members. 

Our first-year Physician Assistant students attended a pre-clinical experience at Inglis House – a long-term care home for adults with physical disabilities - in Philadelphia on Wednesday.  Students felt that talking to people with disabilities and understanding how they receive healthcare was a great experience to help understand how these patients deal with their medical challenges.

On Monday, many of us gathered together to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with our international students. For those who might not yet know, this is the year of the pig.  Thanks to Dr. Melissa Vitek, Natalie Standig and Janet Wilbur for putting this all together. It was great to see family and friends enjoying this fun event.

Thanks to Drs. Alice Lim and Kelly Seidler for their presentations on “The Ptosis Problem; Assessment and Management of the Droopy Lids” and "Keep an eye out for Proptosis: A case-based approach" at this morning’s Grand Rounds at The Eye Institute. The animations embedded in their presentations really added to the quality of the lectures. Great to see participation from our students, residents, faculty and alumni.

On Monday, I’ll be attending the annual “Conversation with the Governor” at the Academy of Natural Sciences.This is a great opportunity to hear what Governor Wolf is thinking about higher education, state funding for special projects and get a general sense for how his administration will address some of the key topics of the day which I hope includes additional funding for higher education and improved access to healthcare for underprivileged people.  I’ll let you know what he has to say.

Just a reminder that we’ll be holding our first Town Hall Meeting on February 15th, in rooms S301 and S201, to share the findings of our recent Scenario Planning process with faculty and staff. We’ll also be seeking your input on the University’s strategic priorities as we look to optimally position ourselves to meet the needs of our students and alumni well into the 21^st century. 

I can’t write a weekly update without talking about our Salus/PCO Centennial Celebration preparations. On Wednesday, a team headed over to the Hilton at Penn’s Landing to check out the different options for the meals. I had the opportunity to participate in some of that and I’m here to tell you that the food is going to be fabulous! I think the venue will really lend itself to the celebration between the views of the Delaware, the Battleship New Jersey and Penn’s Landing and the actual facility itself. While I know you all received a “save the date” notice a while ago, the official invitations will be going out later this month. Please be on the lookout for them. 

Speaking of the Centennial Celebration, within the next couple of weeks we’re going to be announcing the recipients of the PCO/Salus Presidential Medal of Honor.  The Presidential Medal, established first in 1995 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of PCO, has been broadened to include all professions represented at the University and to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Salus. Recipients have made significant contributions to PCO, Salus and their respective professions. I think you’ll agree, when you see the list of recipients, that these folks certainly have done that. So, stay tuned and keep checking our website to learn who these professional icons are.

Finally, no football this weekend.  Take some time to recharge and spend some time with family and friends. 

Have a great weekend and be sure to look out for one another.

Mike