Kelly Goza, experiential education office coordinator, and Jacob Dunbar, associate professor and chair for pharmaceutical sciences, test the equipment in the new labs at the South College School of Pharmacy on Parkside Drive. South College has received approval from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to launch its Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree program, allowing the school to proceed with its plans to begin its inaugural class.

We are thrilled to welcome students to our new South College School of Pharmacy. In January of 2010, we submitted an application for pre-candidate status to the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). This past Monday, we received notice that we have been granted approval to launch our doctor of pharmacy degree program.

This is great news, not only for South College but also for the community. This new program offers a unique educational opportunity in this area and will bring faculty and students from all over the country to Knoxville.

The School of Pharmacy is the first doctoral program at South College but it has been in the planning stages for several years. We opened our Parkside campus in the Fall of 2012 with our nursing, physician assistant, and education programs. At that time, we were already setting up labs and a dispensary and conducting a faculty search in preparation for future pharmacy students.

The ACPE requires that schools reach 30 benchmark standards before they can receive approval. With a lot of planning and hard work, we have met all of them and are now ready to begin classes.

Over the next few years the program will be closely monitored by the ACPE. We will have to continue to meet benchmark standards in order to gain approval for candidate status and finally full accreditation as our first class moves through the courses and graduates. The accreditation process is long and complicated, but it ensures that students receive a quality education.

We have 41 students admitted to our inaugural PharmD class. Admission for this class is closed and we are now reviewing more than 200 applications submitted for next year’s class. The deadline for admission for our second class is March 1, 2012.

The doctor of pharmacy program at South College is unique in that it is an accelerated three-year program. It is extremely intensive, but once our students have completed the program, they will be able to apply immediately for licensure as a pharmacist.

The dean of our pharmacy program Dr. Walter Fitzgerald and his leadership team have put a lot of preparation into this new venture and we are proud of our program. We have assembled an exceptional faculty and staff committed to achieving our mission of educating pharmacy students to be highly qualified pharmacy practitioners. I am honored that the council has recognized our hard work and look forward to our inaugural class at the South College School of Pharmacy.

Usually, the person praised is surprised at the mention.

Our Keys to Success program aims to point out the great importance of small deeds.

It is the ripple effect. Like tossing a small pebble in a pond, everything we do and think affects the people in our lives, and their reactions in turn affect others.

This month one of our students recognized one of her peers at South College who took the time to help her navigate through a class in which she was struggling.

“She took time helping me, almost daily . . . I had a lot of questions, and she had some experience and took time to help me,” she said. It was simply time and knowledge she shared; but to that student, it meant the difference between success and failure.

Each and every day, we have many opportunities to give each other a kind word, a boost of encouragement, an example to follow. And like the ripples in the pond, the little things we do have far-reaching consequences. Our individual actions can indeed change the world in small ways for better or worse.

As we enter into this New Year, I encourage you to take time to recognize someone who has helped you succeed. Thank them; they will probably be surprised that what they did made a difference. And then keep in mind that the little things you do may mean something big to a person whose life you touch.

You are the Key to Success . . . for yourself and for those around you.

PA professional and radio talk show host Lisa D’Andrea-Lenell encourages graduates to use the skills and knowledge learned at South College to take up the torch as the next generation of physician assistants and say “Yes!” to every opportunity during the recent graduation ceremonies at the Tennessee Theatre.

At South College’s Class of 2011 Physician Assistant Studies graduation ceremony on Saturday, I had the privilege to shake the hands of 50 students as they walked across the stage, received their Masters in Health Science degree and began a new life as a medical professional. In addition, a white coat ceremony was held for the 58 students in the Class of 2012 who are moving on to the clinical portion of their study of medicine.

We at South College rejoice with these students entering the next phase of their lives. This is our largest graduating class, as well as the largest white coat ceremony in the PA program’s history. We are proud of our program, our faculty and our students, and are thrilled at the way this program continues to grow.

At the ceremony Saturday, graduates received words of wisdom from a veteran of the PA profession, Lisa D’Andrea-Lenell. Our guest speaker encouraged the students to use the skills and knowledge learned at South College to take up the torch as the next generation of physician assistants and say “Yes!” to every opportunity.

D’Andrea-Lenell is the first physician assistant to have her own radio show. Her XM Radio Show, “Partners in Practice,” airs weekly Monday through Friday on ReachMD XM 160. Her varied career as a physician assistant has taken her from providing HIV education in Ghana to lobbying on Capitol Hill for PA issues, from delivering medical care in the jungle of Honduras to hosting her own radio show. She said her achievements were only possible because of her willingness to take advantage of opportunities presented to her, even if they seemed difficult or impossible.

As an example, she spoke about one of her most significant challenges: her first job out of college. She worked in Chicago with 50 patients with AIDS, who were also addicted to heroin. She had to wear a bullet-proof vest to work every day. As a small-town girl from Ohio, D’Andrea-Lenell admitted she was in over her head. Even though everyone tried to change her mind, she said “yes” to the challenge, and it paid off.

“Saying ‘yes’ to that opportunity became one of my most rewarding and life-changing opportunities,” she said.
D’Andrea-Lenell urged the students to carry on the work of physician assistants and to further the medical field. There have been many strides made in gaining respect for the PA profession, including the first physician assistant to hold national elected office, Karen Bass, a United States congresswoman from California. The time is ripe for this next generation of physician assistants to make a difference.

D’Andrea-Lenell challenged the students saying, “We have made history and to continue making history we need every voice to be heard and that includes you.”

To conclude, she left the students with five pieces of advice in their upcoming medical career:

1.    Make change happen
2.    Life is never a straight line
3.    Never compromise your integrity
4.    Always remember that every patient you see is real
5.    Remember that opportunity disguises itself in many ways, but you won’t miss it if you say “Yes!”

This is wonderful advice for new students entering the PA profession, but I think we can all take something away from this message. To make a difference, we have to be willing to change and to say “yes” to opportunity when it knocks on our door, even if the task seems challenging or impossible. If these students take these words to heart, I am confident they now have the educational foundation they need to make a tremendous impact on the PA profession.

One of the ways we help during the holidays is through our Angel Tree project. The Student Advisory Committee, a group of students that work closely with our faculty in helping guide the direction of our school, heads up this effort each year.

The program benefits needy children throughout the area through agencies such as Helen Ross McNabb, Child and Family of Tennessee, the Hope Center at Lonsdale Elementary School, as well as children of South College students with limited resources.

It is no small project. A tree is placed in the student center of each campus and decorated with angel wishes. Students, faculty and staff are invited to be an angel by fulfilling a wish for a child at Christmas time. On Friday, Dec. 2, the gifts will be collected and distributed throughout the community.

This year’s Angel Tree team has been hard at work already. SAC member Beth Green and her committee — Rhiannon Bain, Kimberly Brown, Shannon Brown, April Dugan, Amanda Fitch, Allison Fox, Staci Garner, Elizabeth Green, Paula Hamner, Dean Hicks, Heather Keck, Maggie Maze and Deborah Mitchell – have the South College Angel Trees up in the student centers and filled with wishes for our angels.

Of the 255 requests this year, 115 angels have already been claimed. We know there are angel trees all over town – at the mall, in office buildings, in banks, and so on. So we are always extremely appreciative of the generous spirit here at the college that makes so many wishes come true.

As an institution of higher education, we certainly recognize our responsibility to our community and society. We support and appreciate these individual commitments to service in our students. It is part of what makes our South College community so strong.

In the spirit of the season, I invite each of you who are able to be an angel to someone this holiday. You never know what a difference one small gesture can make in a child’s life.

For information on the South College Angel Tree project, contact Student Services Director Jennifer Ridgeway at (865) 251-1822 or via e-mail jridgeway@southcollegetn.edu.

Veteran’s Day is celebrated annually on November 11 to honor and thank all who have served in the United States Armed Forces. A national ceremony is held at Arlington National Cemetery commencing with a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

On this special year, the tenth anniversary of the attacks on 9/11, South College will be participating in a nationwide project entitled National Roll Call to honor those who died in the two major theaters of operation following 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout the day, students and faculty will be reading the names of the 6,154 service members who gave their lives in this battle against terrorism. The names will also be displayed on a special table set up for this occasion.

Additionally, we will pause for a moment of silence at exactly 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) to honor the fallen. This time was chosen in salute to the day and time the Armistice was signed to end World War I.

I commend our Student Advisory Committee and the South College Community Service Club for coordinating this effort on campus. The freedoms we so enjoy, the freedom to pursue our dreams here in the United States of America, did not come without a cost. It is important that we remember and honor that fact, and those who fought and died for us.

I hope you will pause with us in remembrance at 11:00 PST on 11.11.11.

Within our Physician Assistant program alone, five faculty members are veterans of Vietnam, Korea and Afghanistan. Many of our graduate physician assistants are veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and we have a host of students who have served or are current reservists.

So it was our great honor to have U.S. Army Major General Bernard “Burn” Loeffke as a guest lecturer for our Physician Assistant program. He is a decorated war hero, earning four Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart, and was the first Westerner to jump with a Chinese parachute unit into the People’s Republic of China.

Following a distinguished military career, he pursued a medical degree and began to use his skills as a physician assistant to help open doors around the world. “Healer is the most beautiful of all professions,” said Loeffke. “Doors have opened all over the world simply because I’m a healer.”

Loeffke illustrated his vision on how the medical profession can change the world using China as his primary example. Working with West Point cadets on programs such as “Teach One Child,” he has seen international cooperation and communication achieved through medicine. Teams enter Chinese schools to teach children important health information, and the children in turn teach their parents. Their parents then share the information with their neighbors. Through one child, important health information reaches entire communities.

The insights of guest lecturers like Loeffke provide our students with new possibilities. It challenges them to go beyond the expected, to explore new and different ways to use their knowledge. And if they happen to change the world in the process, so much the better.

We value experience and service. South College is part of the “Yellow Ribbon” program, part of the post-9/11 Veteran’s Assistance Act, which helps veterans pay education expenses. In January, 2012, we will be starting our own “Vet Up” program to help veteran medics and corpsmen interested in becoming physician assistants.

We are honored to host General Loeffke, who not only exemplifies the values of duty, honor, country as a warrior, but who also exemplifies our mission of “serve above self ” as a physician assistant.

The long-term value of that education, however, is what makes the cost worthwhile.

Experts say that postsecondary education is one of today’s most important economic issues. In a recent study conducted by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, researchers found that people with a bachelor’s degree make 84 percent more over a lifetime than those with just a high school diploma.

On average, master’s degree-holders will make nearly $2.7 million over a lifetime and those with a bachelor’s degree will make $2.3 million compared with $1.3 million for those with just a high-school diploma according to the study.

People with less education can out-earn those with more advanced degrees depending on their occupational choice; however, those in the same industry with more schooling typically command a better paycheck.

Currently in the U.S. approximately 41 percent of adults have a college degree. That puts us tenth in the world, behind countries like South Korea, in postsecondary education attainment rates. We are way short of where we need to be as a nation.

The reality is that the majority of new jobs require advanced skills gained through postsecondary education. In a separate study at Georgetown University, researchers estimate that by 2017 over 63 percent of jobs will require some sort of advanced degree or training.

At South College, we study business and hiring trends and tailor our courses to make sure our students are prepared for today’s job market. The research is clear, a college degree is critical to economic success. It opens the door to greater career opportunities, greater lifetime earning potential and a more promising future. The long-term value of education is worth the investment.

Your outlook on life has a lot to do with your success. That fact was reinforced to a packed house of students, friends and faculty during our recent graduation ceremonies held at the Tennessee Theatre.

Local radio personality and host of the television show “Anything’s Possible” Hallerin Hilton Hill encouraged the 197 graduates in the Class of 2011 to use different lenses to keep life in perspective. Of course, he had props to help us visualize the message.

His eyeglasses, he said, help him see things clearly.

Many times our preconceptions cloud the issues, causing us to go in the wrong direction. I think our graduates have been clearly focused on their career path during their time at South College and I hope that focus will launch them into a successful future.

A magnifying glass, continued Hallerin, lets you look more deeply into situations to get a more thorough understanding. Students come to South College with a dream, an idea of what they want to do. But most have only a general knowledge of what that career path entails. Our faculty and professors encourage students to bring out the magnifying glass to look deeply into their chosen fields, providing them with the educational and practical experience they need to succeed.

This class had so many great students that have embraced their new careers and spent a tremendous amount of time looking through that magnifying glass. The lives they touch will benefit greatly from their insight.

Finally Hallerin brought out the binoculars. Looking out into the crowd he explained that sometimes we need to stop and look at the big picture, to look into what the future may hold.

In order for our students to commit to their course of study, they have had to spend at least a little time looking through binoculars into their future to decide what they would like to pursue. It is that distant vision that has been their motivation and inspiration to persevere through whatever obstacles got in their way. And there have been some. A great number of our students juggle their studies with demanding work schedules and family obligations. That goal is extremely important.

Hallerin reminded us to embrace those tough times. Remind yourself what you have been through and think, “If it can do that, then I can do this!” Those are great words of advice for everyone.

We honored 11 outstanding students and faculty at graduation. Their accomplishments were very worthy of this special recognition. Award recipients pictured above (l-r): Dr. Shiv Dhar, Distinguished Teaching Award; Jennifer Ramsey, Outstanding Student Award in Criminal Justice; Rebecca Norris, Outstanding Student Award in Physical Therapy Assistant; Evan Hewgley, Outstanding Student Award in Health Science; Alan Williams, Outstanding Perseverance, Attitude and Performance Award; Barbara Brimi, Distinguished Service Award; and Kristen Knight, Outstanding Student Award in Business Administration. Award recipients not pictured: Darin Pratt, Outstanding Student Award in Imaging Sciences; Kristin Pickett, Outstanding Student Award in Legal Studies; Mary Conroy, Medical Assisting Pursuit of Excellence Award; and Ashley Williams, Outstanding Student Award in Nursing. But each one of our graduates is well deserving of congratulations for the effort they have put forth to accomplish their goals.

As these graduates move on into the fields of business administration or accounting, elementary education, legal studies, pharmaceutical science and health science, physical therapist assisting, medical assisting, radiography, criminal justice, or paralegal studies, I am confident that they will keep their focus on the goal and be successful.

Congratulations Class of 2011!

Norman Hammitt (left) welcomes Erin Donovan (right) as guest lecturer in his public relations class.

Guest lecturers are a great learning tool. The first-hand experiences they bring to the classroom give students another perspective on the value of what they are learning.

Local television personality Erin Donovan treated Norman Hammitt’s public relations class to a discussion about the important relationship between those in the public relations field and members of the media.

Erin hosts a biweekly segment on WBIR’s Live at Five at Four called “Darin’ Erin” where she is challenged to perform some pretty crazy stunts. She has been dared to cage fight, drive a fire engine and sample some of the hottest hot wings around. Her visit to South College wasn’t as outrageous as some of her previous dares, but perhaps just as informative and entertaining.

She gave the class valuable advice on topics ranging from the best way to contact journalists to social media and personal branding. The class included students pursuing a variety of majors, from pre-pharmacy to business, so the broad scope of Erin’s lecture was helpful for everyone.

Erin then opened up the floor for discussion, quizzing each student on what they were studying and what they planned to do after graduation. She then put them on the spot with questions like, “Why should I hire you?” and “How are you going to get customers?” This helped the class think critically about how they would promote their future businesses, regardless of their field.

We have an exceptionally strong faculty at South College with plenty of knowledge to share. But it is always interesting to get a new perspective. We appreciate Erin Donovan for taking time out of her busy schedule to share her experience and expertise with one of our classes, providing an interesting insight into the world of the media and public relations. I am darin’ Erin to come speak at South College again soon!

In June 2011, Rebecca Doell graduated from South College with her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. She was our bachelor’s program honor graduate.

Upon graduation, Rebecca was hired by the Knoxville Police Department as an evidence technician and was soon accepted to the National Forensic Academy. This is a training program at the University of Tennessee Law Enforcement Innovation Center in Oak Ridge. Law enforcement professionals from all over the country attend this program for the latest in cybercrime, homeland security and forensic training.

I congratulate Rebecca on her acceptance into the National Forensic Academy. This 10-week course prepares law enforcement professionals for certification through the International Association for Identification, the world’s oldest and largest forensic science/identification association.

On March 18, Rebecca received her diploma from the NFA, after completing 400 hours of coursework in crime scene investigator training. Her success is a testament to her hard work and dedication as she continues to work toward the highest levels of her chosen profession. It is also a feather in the cap of our fine faculty in the South College Criminal Justice Program.