Touro University California - The Record 

 In this issue…

The weather is warming and I for one am ready to welcome in a new season. For me, spring means blue skies and mild weather, flowering plants, and deer munching grass behind my back fence. (Yes, even in Vallejo we have deer!) The Strategic Planning Committee led by Dr. Jim O’Connor is putting finishing touches on campus goals and objectives which will provide us with a dynamic action plan like we have never seen before. The Infrastructure Space Committee led this year by Dr. Lisa Waits has prepared a 5-year plan to illuminate space priorities for the campus.  Mr. Jay Ritchie continues to amaze us as he provides oversight to construction projects, building maintenance, earthquake repairs, landscaping challenges, public safety and food service. Hopefully, you noticed the new stucco exterior on Building 89, the future home of our Student Health Center and a translational clinic. We will put finishing touches on the building this summer and plan to have it ready for occupancy by early fall.

Also, new on campus are the 10 blue emergency lights being installed on campus.  Julia Welch, Jay Ritchie and IT staff are working with our vendors to connect these devices to our campus computers and phone systems so they can be used to report campus emergencies or crime concerns and broadcast emergency messages. More details will follow soon.

Student Services, Human Resources and Finance staff have been intensely involved in training for the Banner software implementation. This is a critically important initiative for our campus and the Touro System. I appreciate their willingness to layer time-intensive training sessions on top of their regular workload and for some of these people suffer the inconvenience of repeated trips to New York during winter. Thank you, Steven Davis, Lisa Waits, Jim Binkerd, Jonalee Adriano, Carmina Regner, Kathy Lowe and Lou Van Der Ree.

Moving on, I want to acknowledge the work of our Public Health faculty and staff, led by Dr. Assefaw Ghebrekidan and Ms. Gayle Cummings. Their rigorous self-study process led to a very positive site visit this fall by The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). A few weeks ago, Dr. Michael Clearfield and his faculty submitted their comprehensive self-study document to The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and are prepping for a site visit in early April.  Dr. Rae Matsumoto’s leadership team, faculty and staff were engaged in similar work and have just sent their self-study report to Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). And as if this is not enough self-reflection and external scrutiny, our campus will soon launch preparations for a self-study required by WASC for reaffirmation of our institutional accreditation. This is a two year process that will result in a comprehensive review of our commitment to student learning and success, educational quality and improvement, and institutional integrity, sustainability and accountability.

Last but not least, I want to thank Andrea Garcia and Diyosa Carter for their work to prepare this issue of the Record. In January, Andrea was designated the Director of University Communications and Diyosa was designated the Assistant Director of University Communications. In their new roles, Andrea will work closely with Shelley Berkley and Advancement staff to implement our branding, marketing and communication strategies. Diyosa will assume a larger role in promoting internal campus communications, via future issues of The Record and posting of information to the website and social media links. Please send news updates to Andrea Garcia and Diyosa Carter as well as suggestions about topics of interest for The Record.

Marilyn Hopkins, Ph.D.
Provost and Chief Operating Officer

Campus Updates 

Professional Activities

Upcoming Events

Faculty/Staff Feature

Meet Rae Matsumoto

New Faces

Tech Tips

Assessment and Accreditation

Institutional Advancement

Have You Heard

TUC in the News

Do you have campus updates, professional accomplishments or upcoming events you’d like to see featured?  If so,submit them through the website at: http://externalrelations.tu.edu/
universitystory.html or email tuc.externalrelations@tu.edu with details.

  Campus Updates

CEO & Senior Provost Shelley Berkley hosts a monthly session of "Bagels with Berkley" in the library to provide a forum for students to stop by for bagels and conversation.

Construction on Building H-89 is underway and progressing well! We are just completing the stucco and all electrical and plumbing has been roughed in. Additionally, the framing is completed and sheetrock is being installed. We are on schedule to complete the first phase of the building by early April. Expect more changes to occur as we work towards final completion this fall.

Continuing with changes, Lander Hall underwent a much-needed face lift and looks amazing! Final completion is expected by spring 2015. 

Increasing safety on our campus is a priority. As such, TUC has installed Emergency Call Boxes throughout the occupied portion of the campus. We are just completing the test phase and should be rolling out within the next few weeks. Additionally, we just completed LED lighting to the Farragut Inn parking lot, so you should notice an increase in lighting in that area.

Thanks to the Raise the Flag #GivingTuesday Campaign, more than $22,0000 was raised toward the $23,000 goal for our campus flagpole renovation.  You can still support the campaign by visiting http://development.tu.edu/howtogive/givingtuesday.html.  We are planning an exciting dedication with community guests to raise the flag for the first time on May 22, 2015. Plan to be there!

On January 21, the School of Nursing held its first ever White Coat Ceremony for the Inaugural Class of 2015 in the Lander Hall Auditorium, followed by a reception the Farragut Inn Ballroom. A total of 32 students received their White Coats with family and friends on hand to celebrate. The Ceremony attracted local coverage from the Vallejo Times Herald and the Daily Republic, which gives a nice breakdown of the program and event.

OUCampus, our website management system, has successfully been completed with an update to version 10.  Thanks to the IT Department for making this a smooth and seamless transition for the users.  V10 focuses on improved functionality with a complete backend interface redesign to maintain organization and add simplicity.

On December 17, 2014, Rabbi Elchonon Tenenbaum hosted a Chanukah Celebration for the campus community. Many of our faculty, students and staff enjoyed refreshments, live “Jewish Blues” music (provided by Saul Kaye), and the traditional custom of lighting the Menorah.

On November 7, 2014, the Global Health Program hosted a celebration, together with our School of Public Health and the College of Osteopathic Medicine, for the Global Health Program 10th Anniversary: The Way Forward.  During the past 10 years, Touro’s Global Health Program has sent 274 students out into the world for summer externships.  The students report that they have had wonderful, enriching, life-changing experiences, providing medical care and learning from professionals around the globe.  We have sites in Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Israel, Mexico, Taiwan, and Tanzania.  The celebration was an immense success.  

New to the TUC Library as of Dec. 29^th is Access Librarian & Instruction Librarian, Dorothy May (dorothy.may@tu.edu or 707-638-5317).  The Library is very happy to have Dorothy join the TUC Library.  Her previous Library experience includes work at the University of Hawaii, Health Sciences Library and at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.   Her responsibilities at TUC Library include management of the Library circulation, reserve and interlibrary loan operations including hiring and supervising the student assistant staff in the Library. She will also provide collection development, instruction and reference support to the students, faculty and staff for the College of Pharmacy and the Public Health and Physician Assistant Programs.   

The Library is also very happy to have Librarian Kendra Stoll’s assistance on a part-time basis. She started at the Library on January 6.  Her responsibilities will focus on work with licensed electronic resources and the Library website; EndNote instruction and other library instruction. 

The Office of Admissions is pleased to announce the arrival of Florencio “Juhn” Verano as our new Assistant Director of Admissions. Juhn comes to us with extensive experience from several institutions, including Stanford University School of Medicine and UC Berkeley.  Juhn will assist with supervision of all admissions functions here at TUC, with a focus on the College of Pharmacy. 

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  Upcoming Events

February 23, 2015: Bagels with Berkeley, hosted in the Library from 12-1 p.m. This monthly event hosted by Shelley Berkeley, CEO & Senior Provost, provides a forum for students to stop by for  bagels and conversation.

February 26, 2015: The Strategic Planning Committee is hosting several Q&A sessions in the Lander Hall Auditorium to update the campus on the Mission, Vision & Values along with 7 key action goals and objectives. Thursday, February 26th, 4:00-5:00 pm, Monday, March 2, noon to 1:00 pm, Wednesday, March 4, 8:00-9:00 am

February 27, 2015:  College of Pharmacy will host an Open House from 12-3:45 p.m. for prospective students, faculty advisors, and applicants. For more information, click here.

March 4, 2015: The Teen Life Conference is back once more to provide a resource for Vallejo teens and families to address relevant health care issues and post high school career options through educational lectures, health screenings, interactive informational booths and physical fitness activities. Please stop by and see the wonderful work our students are doing!

March 11, 2015: GSOE Community Advisory Meeting, 4:30-7:30 p.m., Farragut Inn.  The GSOE is expanding the Advisory Committee to include additional levels of leadership from surrounding school districts and organizations. For more information, contact Dr. Justin Heard.

March 19, 2015: The Big Game 2015, TUC vs TUN Basketball game in Nevada. More details to follow. 

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  Professional Activities

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HEALTH SCIENCES 

The Graduate School of Education is happy to announce that Louise Santiago has been appointed Coordinator of the Educational Leadership and Administration programs in the Graduate School of Education. She has a wealth of leadership and teaching experience in the K-12 environment. In addition, she has taught courses and mentored students in the educational leadership program for the last five years.  

Congratulations to Michal Post and Dr. Keith Story on the publication of their book, “Positive Behavior Supports for Adults with Disabilities in Employment, Community, and Residential Settings: Practical Strategies that Work.”

Congratulations to Tracey Del Nero, MS, PA-C with the Joint MSPAS Program for being selected to receive the 2014 Clinical Education Award.  This award honors outstanding faculty and staff for their contributions to PA Education.  The nominees are evaluated on exemplary student support, recruitment and maintenance of clinical sites, development and training of clinical preceptors, and fostering interdepartmental, institutional, or community relationships.  Tracey was honored at the PAEA’s Annual Education Forum Awards Luncheon in October 2014.

COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE

For more than 25 years, researchers have sought to answer the question, “How do we lower bad cholesterol in patients?” Dr. Michael Clearfield and colleagues in clinical lipidolgy may have found the answer in their finds from a new meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Well done!

Dr. Jean-Marc Schwarz of the College of Osteopathic Medicine along with Peter J. Havel (UC Davis) were awarded an R01 grant from the NIH to explore “Adverse metabolic effects of dietary sugar _ Ad libitum vs energy-balanced diets”.  The total award is 3.7 million dollars over 5 years with 1.7 million dollars of this being administered by TUC.

Welcome to Dr. Alicia Calderon Bhambra, who is a Touro University California alumna and teaches pathology. Additionally, the COM welcomes Dr. Grace Jones, who will be teaching biochemistry and nutrition.  Dr. Jones has worked in the research lab with our own Dr. Jean-Marc Schwarz before coming over to the Basic Science faculty.  Please join us in extending a very warm welcome to these fabulous new additions to our faculty. 

The OMM department is happy to announce the selection of two new OMM fellows from the class of 2017. They are Danielle Franzini and Trista Fuchs.  We thank them for their generosity and commitment and look forward to working with them over the next three years.

Congratulations to Dr. Alesia Wagner, who received the Distinguished Fellow Award from the American College of Osteopathic Physicians! She will be receiving her award in Nevada on March 11, 2015. Great job!

COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

Faculty members in the College of Pharmacy have received multiple awards and accolades since the start of the 2014 academic year. 

At the 2014 California Society of Health-System Pharmacy (CSHP) Seminar Meeting held in San Francisco on November 1, 2014, Dr. Robert Ignoffo was awarded the 2014 CSHP Pharmacist of the Year.  Additionally, Dr. Eric Ip and Dr. Terrill Tang were awarded 2014 CSHP Fellows. 

Dr. William Dager was selected a Master of Critical Care Medicine (MCCM) for the Council of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

Three of our clinical faculty recently received board certification:  Dr. Monica Bidwal (Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist-BCACP), Dr. Adrian Palisoc (Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist- BCPS), and Dr. Laura Baumgartner (Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist- BCPS). 

Dr. Shadi Doroudgar recently was awarded the 2014 ASHP Research Boot Camp Grant on her study analyzing anticholinergic burden on driving performance.

Dr. Kajua Lor accepted the National Target Market award on behalf of Touro University California College of Pharmacy at the Script Your Future Committed Partner meeting in November in Washington DC.

Congratulations to Drs. Lucinda Chan, Jeremiah Duby, Bridgette Lofholm, Kajua Lor presented at the 2014 ASHP Midyear Meeting (Dr. Kelan Thomas presented lectures at the 2014 CSHP Seminar Meeting).

Congratulations to all students who participated in the Annual SNPhA Clinical Skills (Patient Counseling) Competition for the Regional Meeting.  Special thanks to Dr. Shadi Doroudgar (judge) and Ms. Alisa Danyeur (patient).  Results: 1st place: Jeffrey Shu & Punam Patel, 2nd place: Jessica Chen & Kathy Nguyen, 3rd place: I-kuan Hsu & Brian Louie, 4th place: Xifan Ge & Nan Li 

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  New Faces

• Alan Berquist, Advancement Services Coordinator, Institutional Advancement
• Ramona Fallahi, Assistant Bursar, Bursar's Office
• Rachel Fassl, Medical Assistant, Student Health Services
• Julian Gallegos, Adjunct Faculty, Nursing, CEHS
• Melissa Kirkpatrick, Assistant Professor, Clinical Sciences, COP
• Janny Latno, Field Supervisor, Graduate School of Education, CEHS
• Dorothy May, Instruction Librarian, Library
• Marie Miller, Administrative Assistant, Joint MSPAS/MPH Program, CEHS
• Terrye Moore-Harper, Assistant Professor, Nursing, CEHS
• Teodora “Guy” Remo-Aguigui, Executive Assistant, Institutional Advancement
• Jeffrey Ritterman, Assistant Clinical Coordinator, Joint MSPAS/MPH Program, CEHS
• Margaret Schulte, Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Experiential Education, COP
• Jay Shubrook, Professor, Primary Care, COM
• Kendra Stoll, Electronic Resources Librarian, Library
• Florencio "Juhn" Verano Jr., Assistant Director of Admissions
• Kimberlee Walsh, Assistant Professor, Joint MSPAS/MPH Program, CEHS
• Harlen Worthington III, Sous Chef, Food Services
• Charity Yamada, Human Resources Generalist, Human Resources

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  Meet Rae Matsumoto

Dr. Matsumoto is our Dean in the College of Pharmacy, who started taking the helm of pharmacy on our campus in mid-2014. She has already made several positive changes in the college and is geared up to make many more.

We asked Dr. Matsumoto five questions about herself … and here are her answers:

What led you to work at TUC?

There are two main reasons that I chose to come to TUC: the people and the program.

The Program: We have an innovative 2+2 program in which students spend two years acquiring rigorous foundational knowledge, followed by two full years of practical pharmacy experiences (more than any other pharmacy school). This breadth and depth of experiences, along with the many professional development opportunities provided to them, allow our students to be highly competitive on the job market and to make very well informed decisions about their future careers as pharmacists.

The People: When I visited TUC (and this first impression has been repeatedly confirmed since I’ve been here), it struck me that the “average” TUC COP student was comparable to the stars at other pharmacy schools. The students are capable, confident professionals who are not only prepared to deal with change, but are also willing to lead change and advance the future of the profession. This would not be possible without our distinguished and highly dedicated faculty, staff and administrators. Everyone at COP works together to contribute to the success of our students. We love to celebrate their successes with them, but are also there to support them through life’s rough patches. We’re like a family that I am very proud to be a part of.

When not at work, where can we find you?

I like to read, bake and exercise my dog.

Tell us one thing about COP that makes the college outstanding, and why.

The COP is not afraid to lead innovation, and it prepares for success. Change in the pharmacy profession tends to migrate from the West to East Coast. At TUC, we are developing new educational and practice models that will advance and define the future of the pharmacy profession.

Tell us three things that not many people know about you on campus.

I was born and raised in Hawaii; I love junk food; and taking away my diet coke would be a bad idea.

Who is Rae?

Rae is someone who is grateful for each day and lives with the goal of helping to make the world a better place. My Hawaiian name is “Lehua.” This is a plant that is known for its resiliency – after a lava flow decimates an area, the lehua plant tends to be the first one to grow back. And like my namesake, I am determined to thrive no matter what the conditions.

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  Tech Tips

Reminder: Mobile carts are available for faculty and staff to check out computers for instruction and research purposed. For more information, visit: http://it.tu.edu/mobilecartservices.html.

The TUC homepage at tu.edu is getting a facelift in the next few weeks! This new format will offer additional features, including a news feed; video; and spotlights for students, alumni, and faculty/staff. We’ve also placed additional tabs on the Navigation Bar, such as “Alumni,” “Research,” Support TUC,” “Jewish Life” and “Make a Gift.” Keep your eyes open for this exciting change!

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  Assessment and Accreditation

The Annual WASC Steering Committee meeting will take place on March 19^th, 2015, the Big Game day, at Touro University Nevada.  We will prepare for the next TUC WASC accreditation reviews scheduled for spring 2018.

Masters of Public Health program (MPH) had a successful accreditation site visit by CEPH on October 27^th and 28^th

COM has submitted their accreditation self-study to COCA in January 2015. The onsite visit will be held on TUC March 31-April 2^nd, 2015.

Assessment:

Touro University has completed the first cycle of assessing all the eight Institutional Student Learning Outcomes (ISLOs). This year, both TUC and TUN campuses reviewed the assessment process and the collected data.  The current ISLOs have been revised and are under review by the WASC Executive Committee.

Program Review:

The TUC Program Review Committee (PRC) completed the program review for the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program (D.O) and the Masters of Public Health program (MPH) in academic year 2013-2014.  The PRC will review the Doctor of Pharmacy program (Pharm. D) in 2014-2015. 

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   Institutional Advancement 

If you want to make a difference in the life of a TUC student, you can make a tax deductible gift through the tu.edu website. Go to our home page and click on the gray bar that says “Make a Gift.” It will take you to a Commerce Manager page that accepts credit card payments. You can make a gift to a student scholarship in a particular college, the university Student Emergency Loan Fund or a general category called “Where the Need is Greatest.” Every dollar stays on our campus and helps our own students.

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  Have You Heard?

Nursing students take next step in higher education (Daily Republic), featuring Dr. Ann Stoltz and Nursing students Elizabeth Scott-Paulson, Celeste Clark, Michael Modrich, and Janet Morris-Modrich.

First class at the School of Nursing at Touro receives white coats (Vallejo Times Herald), featuring Dr. Marilyn Hopkins, Dr. Ann Stoltz, and Nursing student Chelestina Patzer.

Shelley Berkley talks with Sac & Co on how affordable heatlh care is affecting consumers (Sac & CO), featuring Shelley Berkley.

Shelley Berkley addresses doctor shortage (YouTube), featuring Shelley Berkley and COM faculty at the Solano County Clinic in Vallejo.

Shelley Berkley at Touro University California (YouTube), featuring Shelley Berkley and TUC students.

Vallejo medical student works to keep residents healthy (Vallejo Times Herald), featuring COM student Melissa Belec.

Friends know how long you’ll live, study finds (Washington University in St. Louis), featuring COM student Seamus L. Connolly.

Bay Area students break ground on Vallejo meditation garden on MLK Day (Vallejo Times Herald), featuring Melissa Belec.

Scientists say the key to living longer could be ibuprofen (KTVU News), featuring Afsheen Ahmad (COP Resident).

Touro Medical students hold “die in” supporting protests across country (Vallejo Times Herald) featuring Dr. Marilyn Hopkins and COM students Jeremy Mosher, Martha Benitez.

The 2014 CSHP Seminar Music Video Competition Entry from COP students (video highlighting the importance of medication adherence.

Ebola shows doctors need global awareness, Solano Officials says (Daily Republic Newspaper), featuring Global Health

Touro University hosts 10^th annual Global Health symposium (Vallejo Times Herald), featuring Dr. Eiman Mahmoud

Touro University’s Tracey Del Nero receives National clinical Education Award (Vallejo Times Herald).

Pathways Trust and Vallejo school district celebrates grant (Vallejo Times Herald), featuring Dr. Justin Heard.

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