Brock named associate dean of teaching and learning

Education researcher Tina Penick Brock, BSPharm, MSPH, EdD, has been appointed associate dean of teaching and learning in the UCSF School of Pharmacy, effective March 11, 2011. She serves as the point person for all matters in the School related to educational affairs. One of her main responsibilities is to promote contemporary ways of teaching that will meet the rapidly changing learning needs of doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) professional and doctor of philosophy (PhD) science students, while redefining the School's national and international leadership role in education.

“Dr. Brock’s expertise in pedagogy and outcomes measurement is especially important as we strive to become a leader in the science of education and make evidence-based decisions to shape our curricula for a new day,” says Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD, dean of the UCSF School of Pharmacy. “This appointment is particularly timely in light of UCSF's renewed commitment to student learning and interprofessional education,” she adds.

Brock joined the UCSF School of Pharmacy Department of Clinical Pharmacy faculty in July 2010 as a professor of clinical pharmacy and self-proclaimed "learning and educational technology nerd." She has been closely involved with furthering interprofessional education and invigorating the School's education programs.

She earned a master of science in pharmaceutical sciences and undergraduate degrees in German and pharmacy from the University of Mississippi. As a licensed pharmacist, she practiced in community, hospital, and professional association settings before accepting a faculty position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy. There she helped develop an innovative, multi-term program designed to integrate and apply scientific concepts for practice across the curriculum. She subsequently became the school's director of student services—managing admissions, professional development, scholarships and awards—while pursuing a doctorate of education at the university.

Doctorate in hand, Brock accepted a position at the School of Pharmacy, University of London, to direct an intensive, 1-year graduate course that gave pharmacists from around the world, and in particular from underdeveloped nations, the training they needed to become change agents for health in their home countries. While in London she also directed several PhD students who now hold academic roles in universities around the world.

Brock returned to the U.S. and worked for a nongovernmental organization, Management Sciences for Health, to increase access to and improve use of medicines globally, in particular through capacity-building efforts. The work took her throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

“Dr. Brock brings the teacher's passion for education, the scientist’s inquiring mind, and the researcher’s insistence on change based on evidence of success,” notes Koda-Kimble. Brock also serves as the chair of the School's educational policy committee, which reviews and vets changes to the PharmD curriculum.