Productive Week at Salus: Week of June 8th

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

It’s been another productive week at Salus. 

I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Harrisburg, Pa., working with the Pennsylvania Optometric Association to discuss pending scope of practice and other legislation with our local state representatives and most recently met with the Deputy Secretary of Education and Commissioner of Post-Secondary Education, Noe Ortego, to introduce him and his staff to Salus, our programs and all we bring to the local community. I also discussed the importance of obtaining state funds to help offset tuition costs as well as clinical services we bring to our local communities. While we didn’t walk away with any buckets of money, we did succeed in gaining their attention, and hopefully, their support when the budget cycle begins. I also had the opportunity to meet with the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff to help gain support for a multi-million-dollar Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant we have applied for to help with classroom and laboratory technology improvements in addition to several other key projects we’d like to see completed over the next few years. Still no buckets of money were handed over, but it’s one more step in the process of letting everyone know all the great things that we’re doing here.

Closer to home, the Office of Admissions hosted eleven participants from several undergraduate institutions for the second annual Audiology Learning Experience (ALE) on Thursday and Friday. This is a program that offers participants the opportunity to investigate the academic study associated with the Doctor of Audiology program. We do a similar program for optometry as well. 

The University’s Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) is holding its 2018 MuckFest MS 5K run through mud and obstacles in support of a world free of multiple sclerosis on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 185 Glen Mills Rd. in Glen Mills, Pa. This is (obviously) a rain or shine event!

I will be “offline” next week as Tanis and I will be taking some R&R but will be back “online” the following week from Denver, where we’ll be attending Optometry’s Meeting, along with many of our faculty and students. For those of you who will be in Denver for the meeting, Dr. Trego will be hosting an Alumni and Friends Reception on Friday, June 22 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, Centennial Ballroom F. We will be honoring this year’s Albert Fitch Memorial Alumnus of the Year, Dr. David R. McPhillips OD ’85. I hope to see many of you there!

Have a great weekend!
Mike