SLP Capstone Presentations: Week of April 5th

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

Greetings from a cold and rainy Elkins Park. What happened to Spring??? The campus has been a little quieter than usual since some of our programs are on their Spring break.

Earlier this week I attended the annual meeting of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) in Harrisburg. The most important issue they are working on, in my opinion as it pertains to us, involves potential changes to federal financial aid programs and how ultimately loans will be paid back. We (Salus) have been very strong advocates for deferral of interest accrual until after graduation as well as expansion of shortage area loan forgiveness programs that include all of our professions. I’m not overly optimistic we’ll see quick changes, but my plan is to be the “squeaky wheel” since very few are raising these issues. 

Yesterday, students from the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program presented their capstone project posters to a good size crowd in the Hafter Center, including Dr. Eckert and I. The work was fantastic and really a reflection of all the hard work both the students and faculty mentors put into these projects over the course a semester. Well done!

We’re less than a month away from our Centennial celebration. Dr. Jeff Nyman and I were interviewed by Monica Cryan from PHL17, who just happens to be Dr. Pagani’s daughter, earlier this week and I had the pleasure of being interviewed yesterday by Patty Jackson from WDAS (105.3), which was lots of fun. Both interviews centered on PCO’s heritage and the commitment we have had to our community over the past 100 years. So, I hope this helps to motivate you to purchase your tickets for the Gala. There’s still some time. Just click here to get your tickets.

Next week many of us will be in Washington, DC to help the American Optometric Association educate several Congressional leaders about optometry and some of the national legislative issues that affect how we all practice. I’m always excited about participating in these events and even more excited that our students will be engaged, which is so very important.

I hope everyone has a safe and restful weekend and has a chance to get out and enjoy some of the early buds and flowers. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate!

Mike

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

President's New Year Message: Week of January 1st

 

All,

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the Salus community a very happy and healthy New Year! 2019 marks a very special year for us as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our founding college, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry.  In this milestone year, I believe we’re at a juncture for reflecting on the thinking of our founder, Dr. Albert Fitch, whose vision for PCO was to create a professional school of optometry comparable to those of medicine and dentistry that resulted in a higher standard of proficiency and enlightened the public’s mind about optometry and its relationship to the conservation of vision. Today, that same desire is being realized more globally at Salus where we continue to innovate and break new ground through our innovative curricula and world-class faculty and programs. 

As we leave 2018 in the rear-view, I am pleased to report that our academic semester and calendar year ended on a very high note with the 2018 graduating class of our physician assistant program attaining a 100% pass rate on their national certification exam. This exceptional accomplishment has become the norm for this, as well as many of our other programs.

As we reflect on the past year, the last 12 months have been marked by noteworthy achievements and change. 

Just a few examples include:  

• Completing construction and dedication of the Lombardi Classroom
• Adding four additional eye lanes at The Eye Institute
• The Pennsylvania College of Optometry attained full re-accreditation from the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education
• Celebrating milestone professional recognition for several of our faculty members
• Salus was named “A great college to work for” by the Chronical of Higher Education
• Celebrating the 10th anniversary of attaining University status 
• Welcomed several new faculty and staff members
• We also bid farewell to Drs. Janice Scharre, Lorraine Lombardi and Sue Oleszewski, amongst others, all of whom made significant contributions to our institution over the course of their very significant tenures. 

2019 is a hallmark year for us. We will celebrate the heritage, rich history and unparalleled accomplishments of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. At the same time, we will maintain our momentum and actively work to shape our own future as one of the nation’s premier health sciences universities. While it’s important to celebrate the past and understand what got us here, it’s imperative that we turn our eyes toward the future so we can continue to effectively build on the legacy left to us by our predecessors. That will assure we can strategically position ourselves to confront new challenges and remain agile in today’s dynamic healthcare and higher education ecosystems.

This new year we will also welcome our new Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Barry Eckert who, I’m certain, will contribute his extensive expertise towards expanding and bringing new ideas to our academic programs. 2019 also brings re-accreditation visits to our audiology and occupational yherapy programs and a visit to establish full accreditation status for our speech-language pathology program.

Needless to say, 2019 promises to be an extremely busy and exciting year.  Salus is a great university because of the students, faculty, staff and volunteer board members and others that bring our university to life. I look forward to working with each and every one of you as we continue to grow Salus and position ourselves for another year of great accomplishments and successes. 

Wishing you and your families health, happiness and continued success in 2019!

Mike 

Salus Proud: Week of July 27th

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

Another week has quickly passed. Thanks to all of you who commented on the triathlon I participated in last week. It turned out to be a perfect day for a race – relatively cool, overcast and not too windy. I ended up finishing 8^th in my age group, which had 24 participants. I was happy with the results, given that I was in Budapest the week prior to the race.

Closer to home, congratulations are in order to Alexis Abate, Lesley Westerfer and the rest of our marketing and communications team for winning the gold award for best Website Element – Microsite of 2018, from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. Check out the award-winning site. And while you’re at it, please consider our $100 for 100 challenge where we are attempting to have as many alumni, faculty and staff donate $100 to commemorate our 100th anniversary of PCO next year.

I’d like to extend a warm welcome of all of our Osborne College of Audiology Summer Workshop students. It’s great to have you all on campus this week. 

Along the same lines, please join me in welcoming the undergraduate students and their chaperonesfrom Montclair State University to Salus. These students are here to learn more about our programs. They’ll attend a panel discussion, tour the Elkins Park campus, participate in clinical skills demonstrations, and hear from various faculty, students and staff. It should be a fun day for all!

The Salus Campus Activity Committee (CAC) hosted a movie night on Wednesday at the Hafter Center complete with popcorn and a candy bar. This is a fun summer event that students have enjoyed.

Congratulations to Dr. Kathleen Youse, director of the Speech- Language Pathology (SLP) program, who was recently elected as the next president of the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS). It’s great to see our academic leaders recognized in this fashion! 

Speaking of our SLP program, they are having a Send Off party later today from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Magerk’s Pub & Grill in Fort Washington as a thank you to the supervisors and professors before students head off to externships. Come and join in the festivities if you can!

Congratulations to Dr. Caitlin Foy on being promoted to Director of the Occupational Therapy Doctoral (OTD) program. We know the program will continue to flourish under her leadership.

Finally, it looks like most of the weekend is going to be nice, so I encourage all of you to get outside and enjoy the nice weather. Be safe, have some fun and look out for one another.

Mike

Summer Has Finally Arrived: Week of June 29th

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

Greetings from a hot and steamy Elkins Park! Summer has finally arrived with lots of heat and humidity. Ah, the east coast!

Even with all the crazy weather, we haven’t lost sight of the fact that this month Salus is celebrating our 10th anniversary. Yup, the University is 10 years old! We’ve commemorated this with fun photo shoots at both our East Oak Lane and Elkins Park campuses.  Check out our Facebook page to see some of them. 

It’s a pretty neat time for us as we also prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry next year. To help celebrate PCO’s 100th anniversary, at the alumni reception we hosted at Optometry’s Meeting in Denver last week, I challenged all alumni and friends to consider donating $100 to commemorate PCO’s 100 years to help raise scholarship dollars. It’s an idea that I think we should spread that idea around.

Closer to home, Caitlyn Foy, DOT, MOTR/L, has been accepted into the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Academic Leadership Institute where only 25 OTs in the country are accepted. Congratulations Caitlyn!

Finally, our country was built on courage, sacrifice, innovation, a willingness to welcome all newcomers, imagination and an unbeatable will and determination to get things done. As we prepare to celebrate the Nation’s 242^nd birthday next Wednesday, please take some time to consider what that means to you and to remember the many sacrifices that were made to ensure we have the freedoms we enjoy today.

I want to wish everyone a Happy 4^th of July and ask that you take some time to recharge your batteries and have some fun. 

Be safe and look out for one another!

Mike