Three faculty members recently were honored for excellence and innovation in teaching at the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University. The college also honored a staff member for excellence in job performance.

During the All College Faculty/Staff Meeting in January, Geralynn Smith, clinical assistant professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, received the college\'s first Prism Prize for Innovation in Teaching. Rosanne DiZazzo-Miller, clinical assistant professor in Occupational Therapy, and Peter O. Warner, professor in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, both programs in the Department of Health Care Sciences, received Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Marquia Ziyad, secretary, Department of Pharmacy Practice, received the Outstanding Staff Award.

In receiving the Prism Prize for Innovation in Teaching, Geralynn Smith was cited for her tireless work during the past several years to incorporate service learning into the early experiential component of the second-year pharmacy curriculum. She has worked with directors of several underserved health clinics in metropolitan Detroit to identify opportunities for pharmacy students to participate in service learning.

Wynefred Schumann, retired assistant dean for Student and Alumni Affairs, established the Prism Prize for five years to recognize members of the faculty who exemplify the principles of service learning and its impact on faculty, students and community. Each prize provides a monetary award of $1,500 for five years. The word "prism" refers to teaching as a source of light that spreads to students and community.

The Excellence in Teaching Award for full-time faculty recognized Rosanne DiZazzo-Miller for contributing to the steady rise in the performance of graduates on the national certification exam, particularly in physical dysfunction which is her core teaching area. She also was cited for receiving the highest Student Evaluation Teaching (SET) scores of any Occupational Therapy faculty member in each of her four years since joining the college.

DiZazzo-Miller serves as the primary academic mentor to 12 students each year, providing supervision of their academic progress and individualized mentoring. She also is sought as a mentor by graduate students, and currently serves on the thesis committees of three occupational therapy clinicians who have returned to school to complete their post professional master's degrees.

Earning the Teaching in Excellence Award for part-time faculty, Peter O. Warner has been associated with the Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences program for more than 30 years as teacher, student advisor and administrator. A former Director of the Wayne County Air Pollution Laboratory, he has incorporated his professional and analytical chemistry experience into his courses. Warner has taught air sample and analysis, optical microscopy, industrial hygiene practice, periodical literature, various directed studies and essays/theses. He also has coordinated and taught in the OEHS seminar and dicussion program. Warner consistently received excellent ratings from course evaluations and has advised/mentored many OEHS students during his years of teaching and contributed to their career success.

Marquia Ziyad received the Outstanding Staff Award for extraordinary efforts on behalf of the Pharmacy Admissions Committee during its first year using the interview process as part of the pharmacy admissions criteria. In addition to her daily work responsibilities, she handled more than 2,000 emails, dealt with students concerned regarding admissions into the program, and made certain faculty received needed materials before the interview date. In nominating Ziyad for the award, the Pharmacy Admissions Committee described her as a professional who exceeded expectations and showed herself to be a positive, supportive and deeply valued member of the college.

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, a founding college of Wayne State University, is committed to advancing the health and well-being of society through the preparation of highly skilled health care practitioners, and through research to improve health care practices and treatment from the urban to global levels.
Wayne State University is a world class institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.

Media Contact: Kathleen J. Karas, APR
Voice: (313) 577-2312
E-mail: kkaras@wayne.edu
Fax: (313) 577-0457