23 minute read
University News
Welcome
NEW FACULTY AND STAFF
Nicholas Jones, MS, Research compliance coordinator.
Chad C. Killen, OD ’19, Resident ’20, instructor, Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO).
Gabriel Fickett, OD, FAAO, assistant professor, PCO.
Commencement Ceremonies: Untraditional but Special
The 120th commencement Friday, May 22, was the University’s first-ever virtual ceremony and the 121st commencement Tuesday, October 13, followed in its footsteps. All aspects of both ceremonies were filmed in advance, either on campus or from the speakers’ homes. One exception was that University president Michael H. Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE, has in past years had a tradition of talking informally to the graduating class during rehearsal on the morning of the ceremonies. Since that wasn’t possible this year, he streamed via Instagram Live on the morning of commencement. During the spring commencement, Salus vice president emeritus Anthony F. Di Stefano, OD ’73, MEd, MPH, FAAO, who has been associated with the University in some capacity for more than 50 years, received a Doctor of Science Honorary degree. In accepting the honor, Dr. Di Stefano designed his remarks to graduates to include three themes: legacy, public health and political action.
Delivering the oration for Dr. Di Stefano’s honorary degree was president emeritus, Thomas L. Lewis, OD ’70, PhD, FAAO, president of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) from 1989 to 2008 and then Salus University, which PCO established, from 2008 to 2013.
Pennsylvania State Sen. Art Haywood — who represents the 4th District, which includes parts of Montgomery and Philadelphia counties — received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree and delivered the keynote address at the University’s 121st Commencement ceremony.
TO READ MORE ABOUT COMMENCEMENT, VISIT SALUS.EDU/VIRTUALCOMMENCEMENT
St. Joseph’s Partnership on Healthcare MBA Programs
For more than 30 years, Saint Joseph’s University (SJU) has offered exclusive, industry-focused MBA programs designed for interdisciplinary healthcare professionals. In May, Salus University partnered with SJU to offer its students, faculty and staff additional opportunities to earn advanced healthcare business certifications — online and in-person without considerable interruption to their individual schedules.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/STJOESPARTNER
Salus has entered into partnership agreements with Immaculata University to create a pathway for undergraduate students to enroll in several advanced degree programs.
Students who successfully complete a Bachelor of Science degree from Immaculata can finish their advanced degrees at Salus University.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/IMMACULATAPARTNERSHIP
Salus Awards Gala Recipients Honored
Like many events this spring, the University’s sixth annual Salus Awards
Gala (SAG), originally planned for April 17, was derailed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The celebratory event, normally hosted by the Campus Activities Committee, is traditionally a gala affair for the entire University community, with tuxedos and gowns and high spirits. Although the event will be celebrated again with the next round of award recipients, in an effort to give recognition to the achievements and success of this year’s recipients, the University produced a video about faculty and staff making serious strides at Salus.
READ MORE AND WATCH THE VIDEO AT SALUS.EDU/SAGRECIPIENTS
Running Club Up and Running Again
After being defunct for several years, the Salus Running Club is back. The club, first established in 2007-08, attracted up to as many as 30 runners and conducted a lot of in-person training and participated in events — such as the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia — as a team in its early years. Recently, the Salus Running Club has once again emerged to provide an outlet for runners, from beginners to experienced.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/RUNNINGCLUB
DEI Committee Hosts Lunch & Learn Events
The University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee hosted a Lunch and Learn event virtually in July to discuss allyship versus advocacy and then again in September to discuss solidarity during a time of the pandemic and police brutality.
The July discussion was led by Salus student Camille M. Menns ’21OT. The dialogue included definitions of words like racism, ethnicity and privilege, all of which was sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement. What followed was a valuable conversation that proved more than worthwhile to anyone who attended, even examining healthcare’s role in combatting racism.
The September discussion was led by Tim Wise, one of the most prominent anti-racist writers and educators in the United States. His topic was “Interest Convergence in a Time of Pandemic and Police Brutality: How COVID and Growing Authoritarianism Provide an Opening for Solidarity.”
In October, a third event featured speaker Janet LaBreck, who was the commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration under President Barack Obama and co-founder of Synergy Consulting Partners, an organization dedicated to creating positive change within organizations and systems, with a commitment of full inclusion for individuals with disabilities.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DEI-EVENTS
University Receives PPE Donation From Student Group
Salus recently received a much-needed donation of 289 N95 masks from Medical Students for Masks (MSFM). The organization, co-founded by students at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), is dedicated to protecting healthcare workers on the frontline against COVID-19.
Although not officially affiliated with PCOM, the group’s mission included filling an immediate need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and efficiently distributing masks to healthcare programs in the Greater Philadelphia area. Due to the generosity of donors, grant awards and non-profit sponsors, MSFM was able to raise more than $80,000 to purchase PPEs for 50 local institutions.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/PPE-DONATION
American Heritage Donation to Looking Out for Kids (LOFK)
When American Heritage Credit Union president and CEO Bruce Foulke met with Salus president Dr. Mittelman and was informed about the University’s Looking Out for Kids (LOFK) program, he took special note.
“When I heard what Salus does for kids, I said to myself, ’Wow, we have to be part of that.’ After that it was a no-brainer,” said Foulke.
In the continued spirit of the shared mission of helping children — and as part of its corporate mission of giving back to the community — American Heritage Credit Union made a $10,000 donation to LOFK.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/AMERICANHERITAGE
Orientation Week Combines Traditional with ’New Normal’
The University’s Orientation Week did what an orientation experience is supposed to do: it reaffirmed students made the perfect choice for graduate school. “The orientation seemed a lot more personable, especially with the virtual campus-wide orientation (format). And, even though it was virtual, they really did make it hands on with the small groups,” Lauren Wychowski ’22OD, of Rochester, New York, said. It was the first time Orientation Week, this year held from Aug. 17-21, was a hybrid experience for students — mostly virtual with some on-campus elements of small groupings based on programs. Many elements will be incorporated next year.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/ORIENTATIONWEEK2020
Juliana Mosley Named Special Assistant for DEI
Juliana M. Mosley, PhD, has been name the University’s inaugural special assistant to the president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Mosley has 20-plus years of experience in education. Most recently, she served as the Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations Officer at Chestnut Hill College. She previously held several positions in higher education as vice president for Student Affairs at Lincoln University, Edward Waters College, Marygrove College, and Philander Smith College; the director of Multicultural Affairs at John Carroll University; the executive assistant to the President at Kentucky State University; and high school business teacher in the Houston Independent School District. Dr. Mosley earned a PhD in Educational Leadership and MA in Curriculum and Teacher Leadership from Miami University of Ohio, and BS in Business Education from Ball State University.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/MOSLEYDEI
Recent strategic planning at Salus included scenario planning. One of the common themes that emerged from this process was the idea of stackable certificates to meet the increasingly diverse needs of a student pursing a credential related to healthcare and/or education. As a result, Salus is offering a series of stackable certificates that culminate in a Master of Science in Clinical Optometry degree. The program starts January 2021.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/STACKABLECERTIFICATES
Fond Farewells
PATRICIA BURKE
After 30 years working for Fannie Mae, Patty Burke took an early retirement in 2007. But she was too young to retire, and was still looking for something different to do until she reached full retirement age. She started at Salus in 2008 and worked with Maria L.
Parisi, OD ’85,
Resident ’86, associate dean of Optometric Clinical Affairs at PCO, in the externship office for four years. After that, she transferred over to the registrar’s office with Shannon Boss for the next eight years. Burke officially retired from the University at the end of July.
“Coming to Salus I had no expectations of what my experience would be like. I thought if it works, great, and if it doesn’t, I will move on,” said Burke. “I was pleasantly surprised to see what a great fit it was for me. Also, I met a lot of really kind, hardworking people, which was a bonus.”
Her plans for retirement include spending more time with her granddaughters, her siblings and maybe even a little volunteer work.
WILLIAM A. BRICHTA
After eight years of service to Salus as Chief Information Officer, Bill Brichta announced his retirement at the end of the semester, effective Jan. 3, 2021. During his tenure, Bill put together a top-notch team of information technology professionals who tirelessly work to meet the needs of the Salus community. Together, they have continuously advanced the University’s technology infrastructure, systems and services in support of Salus’ mission.
“It has been a honor to work with such talented people across campus and particularly, within TLS where we continuously strive to make a difference. I will miss you,” he said.
Program Updates
PCO World Pennsylvania College of Optometry
NOTHING CAN TEMPER MATCH DAY EXCITEMENT
This year’s Residency Match Day was a little different for Bhawan K. Minhas, OD, Resident ’14, FAAO, assistant professor and director of the On-Campus Residency Programs at PCO. Because of the closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March, Dr. Minhas was in the same situation that everybody else on the faculty was in at the time — quarantined and frantically trying to figure out how to move PCO’s courses, didactic, labs, and clinical — online for both students and residents.
Match Day, this year announced on March 16 for the 2020-21 residency class, is when all residency programs and candidates who applied received their results on where they ultimately are matched after a season of residency interviews that begin in October and closes at the end of February every year.
Optometry residencies go through a selection process that includes applying to programs, interviewing (typically from December through February), and submitting ranks (candidates and programs submit ranks independent and confidentially from each other), into a computer algorithm that spits out results which are released formally on Match Day.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/MATCHDAY2020 RESIDENTS OF THE YEAR AWARD
Dr. Minhas announced in June that Chad C. Killen, OD ’19, Resident ’20, Low Vision Rehabilitation resident at The Eye Institute (TEI) and Jessica Vickery, OD, Resident ’20, Ocular Disease, Specialty Contact Lens resident at Mid Atlantic Cornea Consultants in York, Pennsylvania, as the recipients of the Bernard Blaustein Resident of the Year Award for the Residency Class of 2020. The award is presented annually to a distinguished resident who has shown exceptional clinical promise and aptitude during their residency year at PCO.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/RESIDENT-OF-THE-YEAR-2020 PCO/SALUS GRAD NAMED EAGLES CHEERLEADER Cristina M.
Rosano, OD ’20, has always been a dancer. In fact, her dream as a young girl was to be a National Football League cheerleader. For four years at Virginia Tech, she was on the dance team that would perform sideline routines at football games and halftime routines at basketball games. But after graduating from Virginia Tech, Dr. Rosano took a gap year before enrolling in PCO. Now not only did she want to be an NFL cheerleader, she wanted to be an optometrist as well. Dr. Rosano graduated from PCO/Salus in May of 2020 and just a few weeks later,
both of her dreams would come true: She got a full-time job as an optometrist in the very same week she was chosen to be a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. She was one of 576 candidates who applied to be an Eagles cheerleader, spanning 23 states as well as Canada, Mexico and Japan. Over the course of two months and several elimination rounds, 30 contestants advanced to the final audition, which consisted of a choreographed dance routine and an in-depth business interview. On Tuesday, June 16, the Eagles announced eight new members who had been chosen for the 38-member 2020 cheerleading squad.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/CRISTINAROSANO
HAMPTON UNIVERSITY
AGREEMENT
PCO has partnered with Hampton University, one of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), to offer a new articulation agreement to address the shortage of Black student representation in optometric education and the healthcare profession. Paula Harmon Boone, OD, director of the National Optometric Association (NOA) “Visioning the Future” HBCU Mentorship Program and NOA trustee, helped initiate and lead the effort.
Mirroring the goal of the NOA’s mentorship program to address the lack of diversity among optometry students,
the partnership was established to give students who successfully complete a Bachelor of Science degree at Hampton a pathway to earn a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree through the 4+4 program at PCO/Salus.
Spearheading the partnership, Monae Kelsey, MS, associate director of Student Engagement and assistant director of Admissions, and Shanae Johnson, MBA, Admissions officer, started recruitment efforts on behalf of Salus several years ago.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/HAMPTONAGREEMENT
MYOPIC CLINIC OFFERS TREATMENT OPTIONS
The Myopic Clinic at The Eye Institute offers several different customized treatment options to prevent the onset or reduce the progression of myopia in pediatric patients specifically. The child’s eyes will be evaluated to review any possible myopia progression present during the examination. After the evaluation, treatment options will be discussed based on each individual child’s current needs.
READ MORE AT SALUSUHEALTH.COM/MYOPIACLINIC
THE AURICLE Osborne College of Audiology
MASKS AND HEARING DIFFICULTIES
For people who have hearing loss, communicating with a person wearing a face mask can be challenging. ’’When people are wearing masks it eliminates some of the acoustic cues that we use to understand what people are saying,’’ explained Lindsay Bondurant, PhD, CCC-A, director of the Pennsylvania Ear Institute. KYW News Radio and Megan Frank for PBS39 interviewed Dr. Bondurant, in May about the problems facing people with hearing loss in the age of face masks.
READ MORE AT SALUSUHEALTH.COM/MASKSHEARING
Dr. Radhika Aravamudhan, dean of the University’s Osborne College of Audiology (OCA), hosted a virtual celebration for the Distance Education students on May 18 (the first MSc cohort to do so from the MSc program at OCA). Students from both the AuD Bridge and the MSc programs, as well as Giri Sundar, PhD, director, distance education, faculty, staff, Dr. Michael Mittelman, and James M. Caldwell, OD ’89, Resident ’91, EdD, dean of Student Affairs, attended the celebration.
DR. ARAVAMUDHAN NAMED TO ASHA ACADEMIC AFFAIRS BOARD
Dr. Aravamudhan has been chosen to serve on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) academic affairs board representing audiology. She also was chosen to serve as a site visitor for the Council on Academic Accreditation after she completed her term as the board member on the accreditation board. The service of faculty and staff in both national and state level organizations continue to raise the visibility of OCA.
DR. OWEN NAMED PRESIDENT OF PAA
Jonette B. Owen, AuD ’03, was elected as the incoming president of Pennsylvania Academy of Audiology. OCA has had a strong presence and leadership role in our state organization and advocacy issues at both state and national level.
SAA COORDINATES FOOD DRIVE
Student Academy of Audiology coordinated a contactless food drive June 12 to benefit Face to Face, a Germantown nonprofit organization.
OCA SUMMER WORKSHOPS GO VIRTUAL THIS YEAR
OCA faced a unique challenge to one part of its AuD Degree Bridge program curriculum this summer: It had to take its two mandatory summer hands-on workshops and transition them to being virtual. The two virtual workshops were moved to the weeks of Sept. 20 through Sept. 25 and Sept. 28 through Oct. 3 in order for faculty and staff to have adequate time to film many of the tests and techniques demonstrations to approximate face-to-face interactions.
During the workshops, faculty reviewed Case Studies, were able to troubleshoot remotely some of the tests and techniques and provided an environment for the students to interact amongst themselves and with the faculty virtually.
OT STUDENTS BRING ’FRIENDS’ TO ONLINE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
During the spring 2020 semester, first year Occupational Therapy (OT) students who were being taught online were in a five-hour synchronous class titled “OT Theory and Practice for Children and Youth.” Given the length of the course,
Andrea Carr Tyszka, OTD ’18, MSOT,
MS, OTR/L, associate professor in the OT department, and Sharon B. Marcy, OT ’16, MS, OTR/L, an OT instructor, started “Bring Your Pet to Class” day to help break up the monotony for students. They encouraged them to incorporate their fur babies into the learning experience.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/PETSCLASS
WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS HELP OTD STUDENTS
After Dr. Tyszka completed her doctorate in the Health and Wellness track in the University’s Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD), she was drawn toward incorporating a wellnessrelated facet into her coursework for her students. She instituted “Wellness Wednesdays,” an initiative started in the OT department in response to the pandemic. The program focuses on the eight dimensions of wellness — physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, occupational, financial and environmental — and consists of both resource sharing and weekly virtual meetings.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/WELLNESSWEDNESDAYS
STUDENTS HEAR FIRSTHAND STORIES FROM THOSE ON THE COVID-19 FRONTLINES
Dr. Scott Levy recently got an email from a fellow doctor who explained in detail what it was like to watch a nurse comfort a dying COVID-19 patient. The nurse was crying, but because she was wearing full PPEs and a “papper” (powered air-purifying respirator, or PAPR), she was unable to wipe the tears away from her own face.
It illustrated one of the many aspects of dealing with the coronavirus — the mental health effects the pandemic has had on healthcare workers, patients and their families — that was discussed during a recent COVID-19 online provider panel for Salus University’s Physician Assistant (PA) Studies students, which also included Salus PA alumni as speakers on the panel.
The panelists included:
Chelsea A. Fletcher, MMS ’19, an emergency room PA in Hoboken University Medical Center, Hoboken, New Jersey.
Caroline Slattery, MMS ’19, an emergency room PA for Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia and its surrounding areas.
Jennifer M. Heibel, MMS ’15, a PA who works at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota on the palliative medicine team.
Sean C. Yaeger, MMS ’13, a PA who works for Suburban Geriatrics, a geriatric internal medicine group in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, area. Amanda L. Sadowl, MMS ’14, a PA who works for Suburban Geriatrics that serves two nursing homes in York, Pennsylvania.
Daniel L. Pavlik, MSPAS, DMS, PA-C, associate professor/director of Didactic Education for the University’s PA program who also works in the emergency room at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, New Jersey.
Jeanne-Marie Pennington, MSPAS, PA-C, clinical coordinator in the University’s PA program who works in the emergency room at Phoenixville Hospital in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Cara Orr, MMS, PA-C, assistant professor in the University’s PA program, who works one day a week in family medicine for Temple University Hospital/Temple Health.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/COVIDWEBINAR
SLP RECEIVES GRANT FROM PARKINSON VOICE PROJECT
Students in the University’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and the Speech-Language Institute (SLI) are going to need a larger tool belt.
Thanks to the non-profit Parkinson Voice Project, Salus was one of 149 recipients to receive a 2019 SPEAK OUT! & LOUD Crowd grant for $5,000 in May that will be used for training students to help those with Parkinson’s disease improve their voice, swallowing and cognition.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SLPGRANT
PA STUDENTS HELP DELIVER MUCH-NEEDED PPEs
Unable to get out into the field for clinical rotations, five PA students found a way to help deliver 5,000 face shields to their local colleagues. Even though it was a last-minute operation,
THREE BLVS STUDENTS RECEIVE LIONS SCHOLARSHIPS
the PA students were in the middle of the delivery chain that started in South Carolina and ended in Philadelphia. The idea for volunteering possibilities began with the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), in which all Salus PA students participate. From there, a group called the National Student Response Network (NSRN), started by Harvard University medical students, seek volunteers for a number of opportunities in different regions across the country.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/PPEDELIVERY
INAUGURAL POST-BACC CLASS MAKES ITS MARK
Twelve out of 13 students in the inaugural Post-baccalaureate in Health Sciences cohort completed their program and enjoyed a virtual celebration on May 13, 2020.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/POSTBACC2020
NEW REMOTE COMMUNICATION FORMAT IS PRESENTED
On May 24, Amy P. Lustig, PhD, MPH, CCC-SLP presented CO-VIDSPEAK, a new remote communication format, that allows patients on ventilators and those with other communication barriers to engage with family and friends in real time. Three students in the University’s Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) programs have received this year’s Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Service Foundation (NEPALSF) scholarships to support their careers in the field of education and rehabilitation of individuals with visual impairments.
The scholarship was born out of a partnership between NEPALSF and BLVS in an effort to reduce the shortage of personnel serving children and adults with visual impairments in the Keystone State, particularly in the regions served by NEPALSF, according to Fabiana Perla, MS ’93, EdD, COMS, CLVT, chair of the BLVS department.
The 2020 scholarship recipients are Mary Price, in the Orientation and Mobility (O&M) program; Michaela Halesey, in the Educators of Children and Youth with Visual Impairments (TVI) program; and Katelyn Maffei, also in the Educators of Children and Youth with Visual Impairments (TVI) program.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/LIONSSCHOLARSHIPS
DR. KATHLEEN HUEBNER NAMED TO HALL OF FAME
Congratulations to professor emerita, Dr. Kathleen M. Huebner, former associate dean of the College of Education and Rehabilitation, on being named June 3 as one of 2020’s American Printing House for the Blind Hall of Fame inductees.
DR. TYSZKA NAMED TO AOTA EXAM-WRITING TEAM
Dr. Andrea
Tyszka has been selected by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Advanced Certification Commission to serve as an item writer for the Board Certification in Pediatrics exam.
This will be the first written examination for board certification as a specialist in pediatric OT, which is going to be a part of AOTA’s advanced certification program. Previously, licensed OTs who wanted to pursue specialty certification completed a portfolio. Dr. Tyszka was chosen for her expertise in school-based practice and sensory integration.
EILEEN HUNSAKER NAMED DIRECTOR OF CLINICAL EDUCATION AT SLI
Eileen Hunsaker, MS, CCC-SLP, is the new director of Clinical Education at the Speech-Language Institute (SLI).
Hunsaker earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University and her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Utah. She has written numerous journal articles and has participated in a variety of presentations.
As director, she will guide the day-today management of SLI including clinical operations, clinical education and patient care.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/EILEENHUNSAKER
Dr. James Konopack Named New CHER Dean
When James Konopack, PhD, was offered the position of dean of the University’s College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation (CHER), one of his first thoughts was, disciplinarily speaking, it would be a homecoming of sorts for him.
“My background has been in the health sciences, particularly exercise science and health. I’ve just had this brief sojourn into the world of a business school for the past couple of years, so this is very much coming back home to the health sciences,” said Dr. Konopack.
He started his new position as the first dean of the newly formed CHER on Sept. 15, 2020.
For the past two years, Dr. Konopack — who earned his PhD in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Psychology from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign — has been the associate dean in the School of Business at New Jersey City University in Jersey City, New Jersey. Among his duties there included strategic planning, development and implementation of school policies, budget management, staff management and leadership of accreditation-related activities.
Prior to that, he served as associate dean of the Marjorie K. Unterberg School of Nursing and Health Studies at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey; as department chairperson; and as NCAA Facility Athletics Representative (FAR), also at Monmouth University.
In advance of his visit to the Elkins Park campus during the interview process, Dr. Konopack already had a pretty good idea what he was going to find when he arrived.
“I had done the virtual online tour,” he said. “I like the fact that it’s small enough where I could literally just go for a walk at lunch and see most of the people who are around. The thing that I love most is walking around and getting to know people. That, to me, is the one thing that is disappointing about coming back in the time of COVID-19 is that not everyone is going to be around, so I’m not going to get to have those impromptu social visits.”
Dr. Konopack has tried to find some silver linings to being a higher education administrator in the era of COVID-19, though. And, he believes Zoom meetings have provided an opportunity to remain connected with people in ways he may not have been able to do previously.
“There’s a bit of a tradeoff there. One of the ways that I found is that I’ve gotten to know a lot of our adjunct professors a lot better than I did when we were still 100 percent face-to-face,” he said. “Because they can come on a Zoom at 5 p.m. and I can, too, and it doesn’t matter where we are. Folks who normally teach a lab or a recitation session at 7:30 p.m. at night, you can still talk to them when you’re not in the same physical space.”
Among Dr. Konopack’s short-term goals is to bring the new College together and to pursue getting an Orthotics and Prosthetics program up and running.
“I want to try to help everyone at CHER coalesce as a college. After that, there’s the orthotics and prosthetics program that’s been through the approvals and now it’s up to us to get the thing off the ground,” he said. “That’s one of the tangible goals within the first year, to get that program up and running and to add that to the portfolio of this new college.”
As for long-term goals, Dr. Konopack would like to bring the alumni closer to the University and help increase the private support and gifts to the school.
And, he’s anxious to begin his journey at Salus.
“The opportunity to work with graduate students and the faculty who are teaching and training and mentoring them, is special,” said Dr. Konopack. “To work with folks who are really, truly doing things that will benefit the health and well-being of others is just fantastic. It’s something you can really, truly feel good about. And, I’m excited to get back into that.”
The feeling is mutual.
“I am very excited that Dr. Konopack is joining Salus as inaugural dean of the new College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation,” said Barry Eckert, PhD, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. “His skills and experience will be a tremendous asset to the new college. I look forward to working with him.”
