Assemi and Clinard assume new associate dean roles

Mitra Assemi, PharmD, and Valerie Clinard, PharmD, were recently appointed to associate dean roles in the UCSF School of Pharmacy—Assemi to a newly reconfigured associate dean position and Clinard to a brand new position—both in direct support of the School’s evolving doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree program.

Associate dean of accreditation and quality improvement

Assemi, who has served the School as associate dean of assessment and quality improvement since 2009, is now the associate dean of accreditation and quality improvement, effective July 2019. By reconfiguring the position, the School is able to further benefit from Assemi’s unrivaled experience and expertise on all matters surrounding accreditation of the PharmD program by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), explained Sharon L. Youmans, PharmD, MPH, the School’s vice dean. “Mitra is vigilant to the intricacies of accreditation needs and changes, and is now in the process of coordinating the accreditation timeline and all associated activities for the School’s Self Study and ACPE accreditation team site visit in October 2021,” she said.

While Assemi continues as the School’s accreditation leader, she will be closely involved with PharmD program assessment and evaluation activities, which will expand under a new staff position. She will also continue as the experiential program director for the School’s Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) site in Fresno and contribute to the Experiential Education Subcommittee of the School of Pharmacy Faculty Council. She is a faculty member in the School’s Department of Clinical Pharmacy, which she joined in 1998.

Associate dean of experiential education and professional development

Clinard has assumed the new position of associate dean of experiential education and professional development, effective September 2019.

Clinard joined the Department of Clinical Pharmacy faculty in August 2015 as the School accelerated its planning for a new PharmD curriculum. Over the past four years, she has been serving as the director of experiential education, leading the restructuring of the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) programs, strengthening the APPE programs, and creating professional development opportunities for the School’s PharmD program preceptors.

In her new associate dean role—and as the School transitions completely to a new PharmD curriculum—Clinard will provide a long-range strategic vision, strategic plans, and oversight of experiential education for the PharmD program and for the professional development for the School’s student learners and preceptors, Youmans explained.

New roles for a new curriculum

“The School is tremendously fortunate to appoint Mitra and Val to these positions,” Youmans said. “We are in a time of intense curriculum change as a faculty. At the same time, we’re equipping students with the kind of scientific mindset they’ll need to lead their own brand of change in their professional lives. In the midst of all this transformation, we’re fortunate indeed to have two steady, experienced, exceptional navigators on our education leadership team.”

In their associate dean positions, Assemi and Clinard are members of the Dean’s Office PharmD Education Unit and report to Youmans as vice dean, and ultimately to Dean B. Joseph Guglielmo, PharmD.