Thank you to everyone who joined us on Monday for our first virtual Faculty & Staff Meeting. The overarching goal of this first virtual meeting was to provide an opportunity for our community to come together, share key updates on progress we’ve made over the past few months, and to articulate our broad approach to moving forward in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was heartened to see the degree of recognition and support you as faculty and staff demonstrated for each other during the meeting. Thank you for being present at this meeting with such openness and positivity.
Our contingency planning for both education and research is now underway. These efforts will be led by:
- Research programs contingency planning: Stéphane Angers, Associate Dean of Research; Mike Folinas, Manager of Research Administration, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
- Education programs contingency planning: Sandra Bjelajac Mejia, Interim Director of Professional Programs; Lachmi Singh, Director of Education Programs & Administrative Services, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.
As the planning process continues to progress, it will involve a wider group of faculty and staff for insight and feedback.
This week the Faculty also hosted our first live webinar related to COVID-19 research featuring Assistant Professor Keith Pardee. Nearly 200 viewers tuned in live on Wednesday and Responding to COVID-19: Fast tracking the development of new diagnostics recording is now available on our YouTube Channel. Our aim is to continue hosting these live webinars over the next few months.
Last, thank you to all faculty and staff who continue to work on the frontlines, either directly in patient care or through volunteer or research initiatives. The ongoing contributions made by our community of pharmacy professionals and pharmaceutical scientists continues to inspire me on a daily basis.
As always, enjoy your weekend and take time to rest and recharge.
Sincerely,
Lisa Dolovich
Dean
Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
University of Toronto