Board Meeting November 12, 2006
Attendance: Dr. George Bottomley, Dr. Krista Davis, Dr. Harry Kaplan, Dr. Thomas J. Landry, Dr. Thomas L. Lewis, Dr. John T. Ochsenreither, Dr. Robert A. Rosenberg, Dr. Kenneth Savitski, Dr. Robert Spivack, Dr. Tomi Thibodeaux-Browne, Dr. Harold Wiener, Dr. Karen Wrigley, and Ms. Lynne C. Corboy.
The meeting began at 10:00 a.m. The minutes, presented by Dr. Wrigley, were approved with no corrections or additions.
The treasurer’s report was presented by Dr. Robert Spivack.
| The balance as of July 1, 2005 | $94,715 |
| Income | |
| OptoEast Auction | 260 |
| Interest & Dividend | 1,145 |
| Gains (losses) | 6,978 |
| Total Income | $ 8,383 |
| Expenses | |
| Orientation Party | (500) |
| Campaign Pledge Payment | (5,000) |
| Commencement Award | (1,500) |
| Student Guests at Reunion | (525) |
| Pens for Class of 2006 | (1,276) |
| Balance as of June 30, 2006 | $94,297 |
This total does not include the net from the CE program in April. These funds will be transferred into the account.
George S. Bottomley, DVM, PA-C, is the Program Director of the Physicians Assistant Program at PCO. Formerly a veterinary orthopedic surgeon, when he developed and interest in providing medical care, he became a physician assistant. Dr. Bottomley spoke to the group about the history of the PA profession and the program he is developing at PCO. After World War II there was interest in the health care field in developing new types of health care providers. In the Vietnam War era, navy core men were trained at Duke University. The first class of Physician Assistants was graduated in 1965. Today there are 71,000 PAs eligible to practice nationally, and there are 140 programs across the country that educate PAs. A number of challenges in the health care – the growing number of geriatric patients, the shortage of health care in rural areas, and reimbursement and malpractice issues in primary care – are catalysts for growing the profession. It is currently the fourth fastest growing profession nationally, and may increase by 50% over the next 10 years.
At PCO we are developing a program that will be very adaptable to work place demands. We are currently working on accreditation and plan to accept the first students in the fall of 2007. We hope to have a class size of 20 in the first year and eventually build up to a class size of 40. Prerequisites for the program include academic preparation similar to pre-med requirements as well as 100 hours of work in a health care environment. Tuition is $25,000 with a $5,000 scholarship bringing it to $20,000. A clinical director and a clinical coordinator have been hired for the program.
President Thomas Lewis then spoke to the group. The Hafter Center is now complete. The dedication events included a continuing education program and a ribbon cutting ceremony which was well attended and well received. The cost of constructing the Center was $6.3 million plus the cost of the land. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided $3 million and the College was able to raise $3.2 million through the Expanding the Vision Campaign. The College did not accrue any debt on the project. The response from the students has been very positive. The day to day operations of the Center are managed by an outside firm.
The College is working to increase the applicant pool for the residential program at the School of Audiology. New students will no longer be accepted into the on-line program at the end of the year. When that program ends, we will have 2-3000 alumni. The on-line program has been very financially successful and revenues from that program have been reinvested into the residential program.
Dr. Lewis explained that we have hired a marketing and communications firm, Backe, to help us make the transition from a single purpose entity to a more complex institution. This firm has conducted many interviews across constituencies to determine what our institutional brand is and how we can extend or modify that brand to the new university that we are becoming.
Part of Backe’s work with the College is to help develop a name for the new university. We have submitted a name to the Department of Education, but are still considering others. Dr. Lewis shared two possible names with the group.
- Pennsylvania University of the Health Science
- Galen University of Health Sciences
The group preferred Pennsylvania University of the Health Science or of the Health Professions.
In Dr. Cole’s absence, Ms. Corboy presented the Nominating Committee Report. Two new directors have been appointed. They are Dr. Krista Davis-Anderson O.D. ’96 and Dr. Kenneth Savistski O.D. ’87.
Dr. Savitski gave the Reunion/Special Events Committee Report. The tentative 2007 Alumni Reunion Weekend schedule is as follows:
Saturday, May 5
On Campus:
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Elkins Park Campus Open House
11:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch, Picnic
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Alumni Association Meeting
Evening – Casino Night at the Hafter Center
Sunday, May 6
10:00 a.m. Brunch at the Hafter Center
The Alumni Office has received a proposal from an events planner who can rent equipment and provide staff for such an event. Dr. Savitski will also be contacting companies to see if they will donate prizes.
Dr. Kaplan suggested that the Alumni Association support student groups, particularly SOSH. Dr. Ochsenreither suggested that student organizations request such support themselves. Dr. Lewis and Ms. Corboy will work out a way that students can bring supports for financial support to the Association.
The meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m. with a motion by Dr. Wrigley.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynne Corboy