Update Addendum: Week of May 8th, 2021

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

Good morning. I’m hoping everyone had a chance to read yesterday’s special message addressing the importance of getting vaccinated. If not, please take the time to do that. In the meantime, here are some of the other great things that are happening around our Salus Community. To all you moms out there – I hope you all have a restful and fun Mother’s Day tomorrow!

LOFK FUNDRAISER: Our 14th annual Looking Out for Kids (LOFK) charity fundraiser — this year a combination live and virtual event — held May 1 was a tremendous success raising more than $170,000. The fundraiser’s specific focus this year was on the University’s Mobile Healthcare Unit, affectionately known as the “Big Red Bus”. The unit is in critical need of being replaced and the event helped to make that a reality. A heartfelt thank you to all who contributed to this important community initiative and to the staff who organized the fundraiser. You can read more about it and even view a recording of the event here.

MSCHE: This week, we highlight Standard I - Mission and Goals. Our working group is led by Melissa Trego, OD, PhD, Associate Professor and Dean, Pennsylvania College of Optometry, who is joined by Daniel Pavlik, MSPAS, PA-C, CAQ-EM, Associate Professor and Interim Program Director, Physician Assistant Program, College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation, Amy Lustig, PhD, MPH, CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor, Speech-Language Pathology Program, College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation, and Elizabeth Sedunov, AuD, Assistant Professor, Osborne College of Audiology. Together they are documenting how our mission of advancing integrated healthcare through innovative education, research and clinical services is at the center of everything we do here at Salus. 

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARDS: The recipients of the 2021 Salus University Alumni Association awards have been announced. The Alumni Association annually recognizes the professional contributions and achievements of graduates and friends of the institution. Awardees are nominated by alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of Salus. Once again, this year’s winners are an extremely talented and dedicated group of professionals. Find out who the winners are by clicking here.

A SERIES OF FIRSTS FOR DICE: A group of international students are a step closer to realizing their dreams of becoming optometrists who will be able to practice in the United States after having spent a week on campus recently. For the first time, the University is utilizing a hybrid online and face-to-face delivery model for the MSc in Clinical Optometry, with an Advanced Studies certificate degree program. Salus has been working with the students since the summer of 2020 by conducting online informational webinars that then expanded into online coursework beginning in January 2021. You can read more about their experience here.

AAPI HERITAGE MONTH: May is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month), celebrating the wide range of cultures, history, accomplishments and contributions of the AAPI community. AAPI Heritage Month began as a week in 1978, under President Jimmy Carter and was extended and fully designated to the full month of May in 1992 by President George H. W. Bush. May is significant to the AAPI community for two reasons. On May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant arrived in the United States. More than 20 years later, on May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was completed, largely due to the project's more than 20,000 Chinese workers.

NATIONAL BIKE MONTH: May is also National Bike Month. Biking is a fantastic way to exercise and has many health benefits. You can celebrate this month by biking to class, work, events, or going to the Hafter Student Community Center and hopping on one of the stationary bikes there. For more information about Bike Month and the health benefits of biking, check out this website from the League of American Bicyclists. 

EXPANSION AWARENESS: One of our current tenants will be expanding their office space on the second floor of the Elkins Park 8380 building. This will include the vacant space and University's conference room suite N2500. This work is scheduled to start the week of May 10, 2021. While the demolition and “noisy” work will be completed before and after hours, any construction creates some noise and inconvenience. We thank you, in advance, for your understanding. Please contact the facilities department at facilities@salus.edu with any questions, concerns and/or comments.

Mike