This week saw the publication of Initiating the Millennium: The Avignon Society and Illuminism in Europe by Robert Collis and Natalie Bayer of the Department of History. The book is published by Oxford University Press and is the first in-depth, English-language study of the foremost initiatic and millenarian society in Europe in the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth century. The publication of the book coincides with the beginning of Dr. Collis’ interdisciplinary history course on Magic and Western Esotericism in Europe from the Renaissance.

— Robert Collis, Visiting Assistant Professor, History

Christopher Karch (P2) received the “Most Outstanding Oral Presentation” award at the Des Moines University Research Symposium on Dec. 5 for his work ‘renoprotective effects of metformin in a mouse model of accelerated diabetic nephropathy.’

Chris was mentored in the work by Dr. Shankar Munusamy, CPHS professor of pharmacology, and Kevin Carnevale, MD, from Des Moines University.

— Kaylyn Maher, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Dean Renae Chesnut was voted Chair-elect of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Council of Deans for 2020–2021. Dean Chesnut has been involved with AACP since 1993.

— Kaylyn Maher, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Robert Craig, professor of art, installed his sculpture Holdfast at the Blanden Art Museum on Nov. 6.  This project began nearly two years ago when he was commissioned by the Blanden Charitable Foundation to create an outdoor sculpture for the Blanden Art Museum’s grounds in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The Blanden is the oldest art museum in Iowa and it is located in the historic Oak Hill District: a neighborhood founded by the early industrialists of Fort Dodge.

The sculpture is 12’ 6” tall and fabricated out of aluminum with a kinetic top element that turns in the wind.   The abstract form and colors of Holdfast offer a range of associations to known things referring simultaneously to the many ingredients that were part of the formation of Fort Dodge, the current neighborhood culture, and the Blanden Art Museum as a mainstay.  The colors and patterns complement the existing architectural and natural palette and were chosen to be as suggestive as the form itself.

Additionally, the museum acquired the preliminary studies for Holdfast (a scale model, drawing, and a color rendering) that will be used for educational purposes.

Through both municipal sponsorship and private commissions, Robert’s large-scale sculptures have been exhibited in museums, universities, and sculpture parks nationally. Commissions include the City of Cedar Falls and Grinnell College. His work is in public and private collections such as Spring House Farms, Maurertown, VA, HarborArts, Boston, MA, Central Iowa Shelter and Services, Des Moines, IA, the Village of Ponderosa, West Des Moines, the Hearst Center for the Arts, Cedar Falls, IA, Dordt College, and the Sioux City Public Art Collection.  Additional sculptures can be seen at https://robertcraig1.com/home.html.

Kieran Williams, visiting assistant professor of politics, was invited to speak at Harvard on Nov. 18 at a special event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1989 revolution in Czechoslovakia. In September, he was a guest on the Cold War Conversations Podcast, as a witness to the August 1991 attempted coup in Moscow that set in motion the end of the Soviet Union. And, in May, he was cited by a regional court as an authority in a case of a disputed election in the Czech Republic.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the DELTA Rx Institute hosted the annual Next Top Entrepreneur Competition. We would like to thank all the participants for their pitches and congratulate the finalists:

• First Place: $1200 to Johnny Mills and Andrew Bjorlin (PharmD/MBA Candidates 2021) – RecycleRx
• Second Place: $800 to Breanna Moore (PharmD Candidate 2022) – AutoRx Prescription Pickup
• Third Place: $400 to Sedie Harms, Layne Davis, and Tessa Buehrer (PharmD Candidates 2021) – Pharmers Traveling to the Farm

We would like to thank our judges, Greg Johansen, Dalton Fabian, Sarah Dean, Tom Swegle, Jason Salton, Anthony Pudlo, Robert Loch, Felix Gallagher, and Debra Bishop.

— Kaylyn Maher, CPHS Communications Coordinator

Emma Robasse, PharmD/MBA Candidate 2020 in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, is one of four dual-enrolled students nationwide to receive a 2019 Express Scripts Scholarship. The Express Scripts Foundation (ESF), in partnership with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, awards four $10,000 scholarships to dual-degree students each year.

The ESF recognizes that students interested in dual degrees may have increased financial need and provides these scholarships to offset tuition, fees, or books.

Learn more about this scholarship and how CPHS supports the diverse interests of students.

— Kaylyn Maher, CPHS Communications Coordinator

Drake Reiter, a fourth-year student pharmacist in the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, was announced as the winner of the 2019 Future Pharmacist Award during the Next-Generation Pharmacists Award Gala held on Oct. 25 in San Diego. Sponsored by Parata and Pharmacy Times, the national Next Generation Pharmacist™ awards program honors pharmacists, technicians, students and industry advocates in 11 categories who are defining the future of pharmacy.

The college has a stellar record for the Next-Generation Future Pharmacist Award with more finalists being selected for 7 years of the 10-year history of the award than any other pharmacy program:

• 2010 – Kathryn McDonald Starbuck
• 2012 – Huy Nguyen
• 2013 – Natalie Schmitz
• 2014 – Laura Vollmer (winner)
• 2015 – Natalie Roy
• 2018 – Matt Glasow (winner)
• 2019 – Drake Reiter (winner)

Learn more about this honor and Drake Reiter’s accomplishments.

— Kaylyn Maher, CPHS Communications Coordinator