Town Hall: Gallup Survey results and introducing the next dean

[Tom Kearney]
I'd like to open up the town hall meeting, I'm Tom Kearney. This is actually the last day as Interim Dean. I think we have an exciting agenda for you and something that I think you'll find interesting. We'll be discussing the Gallup Survey results from 2022. As well as I'm very excited about introducing our incoming new dean Kathy Giacomini. And I just want to say thanks to everybody in terms of this has been a wonderful six month tenure as interim dean. And I think we have a wonderful and beautiful future prosperous future coming forward. So you know, we've, in the past, we've touted many wins in terms of our successful accreditation, our research funding, our graduates this year matched with residencies, we have a full entering, incoming class for our PharmD class. But really underlying all of this has been our success now, and in the future, is contingent upon the most important asset, it's our people. And their engagement, by the way, and high engagement, studies have shown that we have less absenteeism, decreased turnover, higher productivity and quality of work. And so Eric, can we move into the slides.

[Tom Kearney]
And I also, by the way, forgot to mention that there are some ground rules, the chat is disabled. And so as you're thinking about it, during the presentations, you can submit your questions through the Q&A. And we'll wait to the end in terms of responding to the questions and answers after each presentation. And now, there'll be a moderator to handle that. So to remind you about how we measure our engagement of our staff, is that we have the Gallup Survey each year, and these are this current one. And where the data was derived from was, it was derived from a survey, April 12 to May 6, we surveyed all of our campus staff. And again, this survey provides us an opportunity for them to voice their opinions confidentially. And really, with the goal of improving their own work lives, and those of their colleagues. And note that I'm gonna only present the school-wide data. And it's incumbent upon all the departments and the units to follow up and address any issues or concerns that are relevant to their departments and units, and to execute strategic action plans in response to the results of the Gallup survey.

[Tom Kearney]
Next slide. So to remind you, there were 12 questions on the Gallup Survey. And the other thing I'm going to show you as a comparator between 2021 and 2022. This table shows you the comparison, the number of respondents. So it's fairly consistent, 153 versus 157. And then we have the mean values of all the, collectively, the questions and the responses. Remember, these are on a Likert scale of one to five, so five being the highest, and 4.06. So we had a slight decline for this year to 3.95. And by the way, both for those of you that are statistical purists, by the way, this is not normally distributed data. So there might be some question about really using means versus a median or other method of sort of comparing the results overall, whether or not they were statistically or clinically significant.

[Tom Kearney]
Next slide. So just to remind you, these are the questions. And I'm not going to read each of the questions, but let you know, the first two questions, one and two, really, we're trying to address basic needs of the staff member, you know, what do I get, okay, from being employed and being part of our enterprise? Whereas questions three through six really represent what are your individual contributions to the enterprise? What do I give to the enterprise? The next slide. And then when you look at the remaining questions, to question 12, the first four really tried to address teamwork, do I belong in this organization and institution? And the final two addressed growth. How do I grow within this institution? Is there some sort of career path that's available to me?

[Tom Kearney]
Next slide. And so, what we'll show here is a comparison of 2021 and 2022 in a bar graph, and on the Y axis, demonstrates the responses in terms of the means on the Likert scale for each of the individual questions. And so you kind of look to see whether or not visually whether there was a decline or increase from 2021 to 2022. So for instance, I mentioned you know, the question is know what's expected, really translates for the staff member, focus me whereas the response to, materials and equipment really, are they, is the translation: Does it keep me safe, efficient and less stressed in my work environment? Whereas opportunity to do best—Do you know me? Recognition— help me see my value within the organization. So you can see that there was a slight decline in several of these different questions. Whether or not that that's significant, I think is difficult to ascertain and, again, should be looked at more carefully within each of the divisions or departments and units.

[Tom Kearney]
Next slide. When we move to questions, five to eight, I think two I've got circled here seem to be a more substantial drop between the two years. Opinions count. So really, what does that asking, what does that translate for the staff member? Do you hear me? Or mission purpose. Help me see my importance within the organization. So I think these are two that we may have to give closer attention to in terms of what's going on in terms of this trend with our staff. Next slide. So here, you know, one that's a question was, actually there was some improvement. We have best friend, which may translate, is there a mutual trust? teamwork? Do I belong in this organization? So I think that was, you know, my view, a positive finding in terms of comparing the two, it's kind of an interesting finding, particularly since, you know, we've been remote for the last two years. Next slide. Accountability index, really relates to, did we react with an action plan and follow up on the previous results. And I think you'll see here, when you look at team action planning, and particularly feedback, on the last survey that, you know, it's very high, our school rates very high. And actually, there was an improvement, a slight decline in progress on goals. But the overall score for accountability index, which I think is important, because, as you know, administration and management, we're trying to respond to the results of the Gallup survey, and issues that were brought forth by the staff that were disclosed.

[Tom Kearney]
Next slide. And so there were a number of custom questions, and some that were brand new. For instance, I plan to be working in my organization one year from now. And there, that was not asked in 2021, it was brought up in 2022, and on a scale of one to five, 4.13. So it's hard to translate what percentage of people thought that they were going to be leaving within one year, but it looks like predominantly, the vast majority of our staff decided to stay, they intend on staying within the School of Pharmacy. The other question is on a scale of zero to 10. So it's a different scale. How likely are you to recommend UCSF a place to work? There was a slight decline from 8.01 to 7.54. So really, to kind of get at this question is dig deeper dive? What could we be doing to make this an even better place to work? I think that is really the underlying principle question that we have to address. And what that did is it generated some verbatim responses that I think give us more sort of a clue about underlying what are the concerns of the staff and doing this. So next slide. So what we did was we looked at the verbatim responses, and we categorize them as two major themes, and compare 2021 with 2022. What was interesting is that there was a bit of a change right in the hierarchy of responses and themes, whereas in 2021, the top was pay and salary issues, and then telework, workload, DEI, and staff engagement, parking. What really was interesting that management, in this occasion, rose to the top, followed by some of the similar themes that we had seen in the previous year and 2021. So I think that's something to sort of take note of.

[Tom Kearney]
So it's sort of diving a little bit deeper. Next slide. So what were these were verbatim responses and examples? And what we did is we took some excerpts to kind of reflect kind of the mood of those that responded. So what could UCSF do to make this an even better place to work? So one of the responses was be less siloed between and within departments and schools. Our organization is so big, but it can sometimes feel very small and isolated, which can lead to a feeling of being disconnected. I'm certain that with COVID and remote work, to some extent that exacerbates some of these feelings. Listen to all workers, regardless of position. Everyone on the team is important and plays a necessary role. Their voice is to be valued, but they're also continue to support management who already do a great job supporting employees. And so there was some sort of mixed comments in terms of both positive and some that were sort of constructive and critical in terms of some of these issues. Next slide.

[Tom Kearney]
Some other examples of verbatim responses, continue prioritizing flexibility for staff, keep the hybrid work model, and ensure employees have the ability to work with their managers to arrange the work modality that allows them to perform their best and live a healthy life. And really the trick here is how do you strike that perfect balance, work life balance. In fact, I think the next quote, help with a better work life balance, making taking vacation days or mental health days easier to ease burnout. And I have to sort of talk a little bit about that. There was, with the Chancellor's cabinet, a discussion where it was unveiled that UCSF campus, of those that were surveyed, 39% of the respondents on campus felt that burnout was felt frequently. And this is concerning, there are sort of three dimensions to that. One is that people feeling exhausted, increased mental distance from the job, reduced professional efficiency. And there are also ripple effects on the institution. And studies have shown high burnout, they're 63% or more likely to take a sick day, they're 2.6 times likely to seek a different job, actively. 13% feel less confident. So there are some significant repercussions in terms of the need to address this, you know, and otherwise, some of these consequences. And some very constructive comments like host networking sessions amongst various department employees.

[Tom Kearney]
Next slide. So, I think something that always raises, you know, I mean, we're dealing with inflation, and grappling with the cost of living in the Bay Area, you know, competitive pay and transparency of salaries, within similar roles. Salary increases, more staff development opportunities and programs for people earlier in the career, which I think also leads to, you know, we were talking about growth in the organization. And finally, two quotes, which I think really come into play with trying to, the importance of maintain our commitment to our pride values, and DEI, you know, fund initiatives and financially commit to making the university more just, equitable, inclusive, and diverse. There needs to be an expectation from leadership for this to be everyone's goal. And finally, practice diversity and inclusion at all levels and support diversity of work styles, learning styles and opinions.

[Tom Kearney]
So what are my takeaways and sort of the context of this? So one of the things I think for us to keep in mind is that we are in this transition period of significant new leadership, which certainly leads to a lot of uncertainty. And furthermore, COVID is still looming, there are ebbs and flows. You know, we've been struggling with the return to campus, defined with our telework agreements, you know, what works, you know, how are people dealing with that, and we're just not at a steady equilibrium. So things are really in a state of flux. Furthermore, we have a number of external events. You know, in addition to inflation, we have, you know, both societal and political upheavals, the Supreme Court decisions, a lot of things coming down the pike that we're sort of dealing with in our everyday lives. But, you know, I think that there is some hopeful beginnings. And I think we now have new leadership coming, who will come with a new vision, and renewed energy. So I'm very optimistic about that. And I think the other important part is how we deal with our resilience and the ability to adapt to this change, and meet new challenges. And I got to just tell you, the other take home message is, please take a vacation, if at all possible. And if you're struggling with any of these issues, please reach out. And please utilize our mental health and wellness resources. And so I think with that, Eric, I think we can move on if there's any questions and answers regarding the Gallup survey. And is this something that Levi will do or am I going to do?

[Eric Davila]
It should be Levi, but I've got one for you. So we'll just we'll just wing it here. Are we gonna see answers by the organizational unit? It is important to know these are aggregated responses and combined across different units. It may not reflect the situation where an individual is.

[Tom Kearney]
Absolutely. So I mentioned before that my understanding is that each of the units will get their more specific results for their staff. And again, it's incumbent upon those supervisors and department chairs in those units, to make sure that they address those issues within their individual, and you're right. This is an aggregate of the whole school. And it did, by the way, it was mixed, depending on what department staff. I don't have anything other specific. I don't know, Liana is on or can provide any further detail about the Gallup survey. But again, we did see some breakdown of the units. But I think, again, that's something that requires a more in depth conversation with your individual staff, and they need to develop a strategic plan and how they're going to address it. And I think, and again, as you saw the end, you know, our accountability index, we've done fairly well previously. But again, I want to continue that going into the next year.

[Eric Davila]
So my understanding is that it's also a required part of the process to have the closer to your, to your group.

[Tom Kearney]
Yeah, I mean, what you know, there's no, this will be meaningless, right? Unless we react to it, or be honest and upfront transparent about it, and really try to, you know, address each of these issues with something that's a very clear, strategic plan going forward, that's, you know, meaningful and is substantive in terms of address these. And some of these, you know, it's going to be hard, because they're going to be external factors and variables are going to affect it. Certainly, you're not going to be able to resolve completely. But I think there's some, you know, some messages here in terms of how we move going forward.

[Eric Davila]
So, related question, someone wants to know, if they'll actually be able to see these differences between the units.

[Tom Kearney]
We actually did not intend to present the differences. I'm not sure I want, sort of, you know, people sort of point fingers at each other in terms of how each of the units are doing. I mean, the overall management, and, you know, our leadership is aware, you can look at the comparison between the units, but I think what's important is you really pay attention to your individual unit. And if they're struggling in a certain area that needs to be addressed. And that's where the emphasis I think, going forward is, is how do we improve within our own individual unit?

[Eric Davila]
Another question, asking how much of a priority is replacing staff who have left or retired recently? Is that anything that was you saw reflected in the survey results?

[Tom Kearney]
I don't recall seeing that. I think, you know, as I mentioned, I provided the top five categories, I think, you know, and maybe part of it is, if you feel like, you know, people are being a little bit overworked, they want to be careful, staff are coming in where that can contribute to burnout. So I think, you know, our leadership will be looking carefully at the workload and what the needs are of each of the individual units. I think the other big part was management, in terms of, we do have new leadership, we are in a process of now, you know, looking forward, and maybe a new strategic plan. And I think that's where we need to really keep our focus. I can't say specifically, you know, in terms of staff turnover, who's going to be replaced. And when we go forward, of course, that would be, you know, contingent upon what the budget allows and the plans and where we're moving forward as a school and the new leadership, and particularly with our new dean, Kathy Giacomini.

[Eric Davila]
One last question. And I think that will wrap it for this portion. But I think it's probably the same person following up to ask, why maybe they wouldn't be able to see how their unit compares to others.

[Tom Kearney]
Yeah, I don't know the specifics on that. I've never been involved in doing that. And I guess that might be something to address to Kathy, in the leadership, about what they want to do in terms of disclosing the results. So I think, you know, I don't particularly personally see a huge problem with that. But I don't know, depends on, you know, what, what they decide, again, I think, you know... each unit is very individualized. And so I think you have to have sort of a rationale why you'd want to do that, and what the outcome was, I think we really have to focus on being constructive and moving forward in terms of how can we resolve or remedy these things and really improve the workplace environment of each of our staff regardless of where they are within the organization.

[Eric Davila]
Alright, well, I think we should keep going to the next part of the program. But if there's time, we'll dive back into these questions later.

[Tom Kearney]
Sure. So I'll just say as my parting message here, I just really enthusiastically welcome, a warm welcome to Kathy Giacomini, who as of tomorrow is the new Dean of the School of Pharmacy and wish her the best and I've been so impressed with talking with her about some of her thoughts and vision. And so Kathy, I'm gonna let you go ahead and take it away.

[Kathy Giacomini]
Thank you. Thanks, Tom. Thank you very much. It's exciting to be here as the new dean. Well, tomorrow, officially, and it's especially nice to be introduced after the staff survey. I have always thought of our staff as the engine of our school, and we have to take care of that engine. It's nice to have the survey to use as a guide to begin that process. Before I began my short presentation, which will be followed by Q&A, I want to give special thanks to two individuals. Tom became the interim dean on January 1 and today is his last day and Tom, I can see a big grin on your face. He has done a spectacular job in shepherding our school during this time, and allowing me to transition from a rank and file faculty member to a dean. I could not thank him enough. I didn't really know Tom much well before then I got to know him a little better during the transition period. This is one of the things I'm really looking forward to as Dean is getting to know everyone a lot better during my dean ship.

[Kathy Giacomini]
But with Tom, I have just a little story, which I feel describes Tom perfectly. Certainly my interactions with him. We were at graduation one day, it was in May. We were at graduate school graduation, PhD and master's degree graduation, it was on a Friday. And we were in the faculty robing room. And we were both in our regalia. And I asked Tom, how he had liked being interim dean. I mean, interim positions are very difficult as you are not the permanent dean, so you lack a bit of the power. And at the same time, you have all the responsibilities. So I thought when I asked him that he would complain a little bit and tell me how it had been tough. Instead, to my amazement, he thoughtfully responded, he said, I've spent most of my career here Kathy at UCSF. I've been a toxicologist. I've been a faculty member. I've been an associate dean. But being the dean was a real capstone to my career. I enjoyed getting to know the faculty, more the staff and the students. I enjoyed being with the alumni and going to all those events. I got to know the chancellors and others, the people who run this campus. And it was clear to me that he was in that zone, where we all are sometimes in where you're in the moment, you're cherishing all that is around you, knowing that this will not happen again. And we were particularly fortunate to have you Tom, so why so kind and intelligent, shepherding us through this period. So on behalf of myself and the school, thank you, Tom, for being in the moment for all of us. And today, Tom, I'm not sure if you know it, I included this meteor, it is National Meteor Watch day. So I know we will watch you glow in your retirement Tom.

[Kathy Giacomini]
And I'd like to also like to put in a nice word and say thank you to Joe [Guglielmo], although I know he's not with us, I feel I didn't have the chance to move from Joe to me. So I want to thank him now for all he did over 10 years. Joe did many things as dean, but I think the best thing he did is exemplified here in this quote, credit for any and all accomplishments these past 10 years completely rests upon the efforts of a talented, committed faculty and staff. Joe, as we all know, was not pretentious. He was self effacing. He created an open and warm environment, transforming our school into more of a home than a business and making it a wonderful place to work. And Tom continued that. And I hope that during my deanship I can continue to build on their generosity and warmth and created by Joe and furthered by Tom. So thank you, Joe. And Tom, you've both given me very big shoes to fill.

[Kathy Giacomini]
Now I'm going to transition just a little bit into myself and what's coming for the school. Oops, I did not mean to go that way. I can. Yeah, so here's about me. I began my academic life getting a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston from the College of Pharmacy, and I was a registered pharmacist for about 10 years but rather than practicing pharmacy, I pursued a PhD. I got a PhD in pharmaceutics from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Buffalo. I then did a postdoc at Stanford. And I came to UCSF in the early '80s. And I've been here my entire career. I've had many passions, but I've had two passions that I really had. One, I love students. I love teaching and mentoring, I love having fun with them. We go over here to the food trucks and play poetry with Neanderthals, I have a huge academic family all over the world, most in tech and biotech, some in academic institutions on the faculty. And I look forward as dean, to interacting with our students, and getting to know all of you and building an even larger academic family.

[Kathy Giacomini]
My second passion truly has been my research, and taking on the challenges of research, it is, I guess, intoxicating, and from time to time translating that research into something meaningful for patients. I'm a strong believer that it is research that drives change in the profession of pharmacy, and indeed, change in all society. And I hope during my deanship, to act strongly on that belief.

[Kathy Giacomini]
So briefly, what's my vision for this school? Well, it's to build on the excellence of UCSF School of Pharmacy by supporting the research, education, clinical missions, and taking advantage of our outstanding research enterprise. And by doing this, I hope as my mission to create a culture of diversity, energy, innovation, and fulfillment. So what's the game plan? Well, the game plan is to support and grow our research enterprise, integrate research and science into our curriculum and training programs. We're going to take advantage of the fact that tech and biotech are right here in our backyard. We have an entrepreneurial faculty that brings in, by far, more research dollars, probably over double of any school of pharmacy, and well, I'm not getting any younger. So the time is now, we're going to start by taking a look at current issues in pharmacy. That is, the job market is contracting largely due to online pharmacy. Thank you, Amazon. And applications to our School of Pharmacy have declined from 2010, when we had over 1000 applications for about 125 positions, to 2021 when we barely had 300 for the same number of positions, this is happening all over the country in pharmacy schools.

[Kathy Giacomini]
So what should we do, we the leaders of pharmacy, what should we be doing to fix that? So I'm going to go through some potential opportunities that I'd like to create, with all of our faculty, for pharmacists, working with all of you and creating new opportunities for our students, as well as all trainees as well as our faculty. So first of all, I'd like to build on the new curriculum. The new curriculum is great, I want to incorporate more science threaded into the PharmD training program, so our students are better prepared particularly to handle new problems of today and retool them for tomorrow. I would like to establish new master's programs, they could be postdoctoral fellow programs, in computational pharmacology, there's a huge need, in drug development and regulatory sciences also a new need, and perhaps in other areas such as pharmacy informatics and pharmacogenomic counseling. I think these together will create great new expanded opportunities for UCSF PharmD students.

[Kathy Giacomini]
I also want to support new clinical practice models, working together with Desi Kotis and Lisa Kroon, and the clinical pharmacy faculty. I know the pharmacogenomic consulting service is about to be announced and about to begin with Bani Tamraz and others. And I want to think about things like precision dosing, and other interesting practice models. I'd like to consolidate all the PharmD postdoctoral training programs that we have all over the school in isolated places into a larger training program. I'm still leaving them autonomous, but allowing them to incorporate joint activities for our trainees.

[Kathy Giacomini]
And, of course, I can't ignore fundraising. My primary mission for all of our faculty is to raise funds. I am extremely conscious of the fact that we as faculty have to bring in such an enormous part of our salary. And that is no small task while maintaining a research program. And with pretty flat NIH dollars per grant. So I will focus on fundraising and hopefully have fun doing that.

[Kathy Giacomini]
And how are we going to get this done? And who is going to be doing all this? Well, we need an engaged and enthusiastic faculty and staff and we need to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our programs. DEI has a special place in my heart. In California, we may take diversity for granted. But the solutions to address the diversity issue should not be taken for granted. We need to make sure that DEI is always at the forefront. I did this in my laboratory, and when I was chair, I will now bring this to the deanship. I'll begin by supporting current initiatives from Sharon Youmans' post-bacc program and Ryan Hernandez and others on PROPEL. And of course, I have some other ideas as well.

[Kathy Giacomini]
Listening starts now. So I plan to spend the first month and then beyond the first year listening to all of you. So some of the things I'm going to institute is a monthly breakfast with the dean for students, you can come or you don't have to come. But we'll have it there. And students can come and just talk and have fun together or bring issues to me. I'll have a monthly faculty happy hour, everybody knows I love happy hours. So we'll rotate between Parnassus and Mission Bay, everybody can just join. And then I'm going to individually meet with all the faculty and students, that may take me a while. But I will meet with each of you to understand you because as Tom, I think Tom said it very elegantly early. People are everything. And I'm a very strong believer that it is people more than ideas that drives change. And then of course, we'll continue these quarterly School of Pharmacy town halls.

[Kathy Giacomini]
I thought I'd end with a quote one that I'm sure many of you are familiar with, one that has a special place in my heart. And there's a story there look at tell it over happy hour. But I'll just read it to all of this. How will we know we've succeeded? Well, for me, it's to laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to leave the world a bit better, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. So hopefully we'll have a successful fun few years ahead. And I want to thank everyone. And I'm now ready to take questions from anyone. Thank you. Should I stop sharing? And we'll stop.

[Levi Gadye]
All right. Thanks, Kathy. So, well, the first question and feel free to put more questions in the Q&A. As Kathy and I discussed this, the first question is, Can staff attend the faculty happy hours?

[Kathy Giacomini]
Oh god, that should be fun. I didn't even think of it. But yes, let's all get together. Now. That would be fun.

[Levi Gadye]
Wonderful.

[Kathy Giacomini]
Thank you.

[Levi Gadye]
So I have a few questions, Kathy. So first, how do you see the relationship between the school and UCSF Health evolving?

[Kathy Giacomini]
I think of UCSF Health as a huge major opportunity for our School of Pharmacy. I mean, here it is, UCSF. They need pharmacists. And we can contribute so much to the health care of our patients. So I see, I will be working alongside of Desi Kotis and her team to further practice models there with UCSF Health, to think about different funding models for pharmacists, for example, fee for service kinds of funding models, to really work to further the practice of pharmacy, it's through UCSF Health that I feel we can establish models that can then go further out to other universities and hopefully to the state of California and beyond. So yes, I'm going to work closely with UCSF Health. I'm going to go to all the meetings. So yes. With Desi.

[Levi Gadye]
So we have a comment here. Someone wrote, I love your priorities on recruitment, fundraising and DEI. And they ask what steps do you propose to ensure retention is equitable and accessible? One off responses to faculty who get an outside offer is often too late and insufficient.

[Kathy Giacomini]
Yeah, so that's a very good question. Because we invest a lot in our faculty, you know, they each represent an investment. And as soon as they get really good, because I really feel we grow our young here very well. They become attractive to other institutions, and then they get job opportunities. And of course, you're never a hero in your hometown. So I'm sure they're courted over there. Whereas where they are they're back, you know, like the rest of us working. So I absolutely, so I'm going to first have a faculty advisory committee, and I already have talked to our chairs about who are a potential flight risk, we could go and I'm going to be very good and supportive and we'll try to put you know, we'll try to put programs dollars, things like that in place for those faculty, so it's more attractive to stay than to go. That's the kind of thing and again, I can't underscore fundraising, I feel having to bring in your own salary in a very expensive place like this just hurts, and then run a research program and be competitive. It's hard. So I'm going to try to help you help all of you.

[Levi Gadye]
Thanks. So moving on, what are your... what plans do you have for staff in particular?

[Kathy Giacomini]
Yeah, so that's very interesting, because, you know, I've been reading all these kinds of books about running an organization like this, which is complex, not just running my laboratory, even a department. And so staff is always on my mind, because as I said earlier, staff are the engine. So the first thing I want to do is began to meet with staff. And I don't know how I'll do it. But with Alesia, and Alesia is fabulous, meet with at least the head of all the different departments of the staff, at least do that, where the Dean now, you know, can transmit the mission, transmit what we're, what the faculty and students are doing, what we're doing there and hear the concerns from the staff. So that bi directional meeting, I want to have those monthly. And then individually, I want to get to know the staff and find out if they want to do, how I can help, for example, going to development, to staff development programs, things like that, I would definitely put money there and help them all.

[Levi Gadye]
And similarly with other plans, what are your plans for addressing diversity?

[Kathy Giacomini]
Yeah, so I've been thinking deeply about diversity. So of course, when I think about diversity, I have to think about diversity of our student body, where we have very few African American and Hispanic students in particular, other ethnic groups as well. But those two in particular, I have to think about diversity on the faculty. And then I have to think about staff diversity. Each of those may require different solutions. So of course, I want to tell you, Oh, I'll get a committee. But I guess everybody can say we're gonna get a committee and I was telling Lawrence here that, that seems to be the standard academic, but I will form some kind of a committee and Task Force, I was given a little bit of a startup package from the Chancellor, I will throw some money that way, I'll support the post-bac program. I'm thinking for students, I listened to Igor Mitrovic, and others talk about the School of Medicine feeder program from UC Merced. That is a way to get underrepresented minorities from the valley, into the medical school and I want to think about creating something like that for the School of Pharmacy. So I'm going to go out with Igor to UC Merced and meet some people. And think about things like that, sister institutions, maybe Cal State Hayward, again, recruiting minorities over there for the student body. For the faculty, I would like to sit and think more with Sharon, and perhaps Ryan Hernandez, because they both have post-bac programs in different areas, about what I can do there. And for the staff, also, I have to think with that. So those are just initial thoughts.

[Levi Gadye]
What are some of your ideas for innovative care opportunities? For clinical pharmacists?

[Kathy Giacomini]
Yeah, that's so where I'm the weakest. And I don't think I don't have to say this to everyone, where I am the weakest is in clinical practice. You know, as I said, I was trained as a pharmacist, but I've never had a clinical practice. So I can't wait to kind of go over meet all of you, I'm going to spend a lot of time over there, Parnassus, and walk your walk and get used to what our current clinical practice models are. Because those, I want to make sure I'm supporting. Then the new ones I'm thinking of, I want them to kind of dovetail with sort of my emphasis on data, if you will, data analytics, Big Data computation. So one of the things I'm thinking of is pharmacy informatics, maybe as a practice model, I heard that we're going to get pharmacogenomics consulting service. I love that, of course, always thinking about therapeutic drug monitoring, we had a service, I understand from people that I've talked to in the private sector, that when lab, and when somebody orders orders a drug level, for example, lab medicine bills for that drug level, but we may be able to, what we may consult, and when we consult, we might be able to bill there. So again, reinvigorating a practice model where we're doing some really precision dosing, incorporating in computational models, as well as those values in our PK PD. So those are kinds of things I'm thinking about, but I will rely on the clinical faculty also to give me advice here.

[Levi Gadye]
That's wonderful. For the student breakfast with the dean events, will there be specific topics that you hope to discuss?

[Kathy Giacomini]
And I'm looking forward to that. I've already had a couple of students to my house and I have a pool table, so I'd beat them at pool. So maybe they'd beat me. I can't remember. But anyway, um, yeah. So what I'm hoping it yeah, I'll come prepared. When I have questions, I like to ask the students, what do you think about this, what it is. I will come prepared with my own set of questions, but they can bring their questions. This is intended to be informal, and you just come on by or don't, sit down have a breakfast, we can talk fun things, we can talk on interesting topics to the students careers. Students are very concerned with careers in the three year curriculum, they really don't have that time to reflect about careers, you know, they just have to go, go, go. So that might be something they want to talk to me about bringing in other people.

[Levi Gadye]
Do you have any initial thoughts on continuing remote work or hybrid work?

[Kathy Giacomini]
I love remote work, my dog finally got to know me. And I've got the tomato garden. As you know, I have a very nice garden also. So I feel like remote work, we were, most of us are very productive. And we're a little less stressed. You know, we don't have to make the commute. So I have plans to continue. Good work life balance is for everybody. How exactly, you know, I don't want to make promises. I'll have to conform to campus policies. All the school will have to conform to campus policies. How flexible but that yes, no, I want people happy.

[Levi Gadye]
Excellent. Well, we do have five more minutes or so. Maybe we'll give another 30 seconds to minute for people to drop any last questions in the Q&A.

[Kathy Giacomini]
Probably want to go start firecrackers or whenever we're allowed to on the Fourth of July or day ahead. Yes.

[Levi Gadye]
All right. Doesn't seem like any more are coming in. Well, I'll pass the baton back to Tom. Thank you. Thanks, Kathy.

[Kathy Giacomini]
Thanks, Tom. I'm signing off, I will go on mute and turn off my camera.

[Tom Kearney]
Kathy, thanks for sharing your vision and even a game plan coupled with it. So very exciting. I really feel confident and comfortable in terms of handing the baton off to you, and leading our school to a prosperous future. I do have some mixed emotions right now. Further, you know that I'll become unemployed as of tomorrow, for the first time of my life, since I was 10 years old. But I just really want to thank everybody for just a wonderful, gratifying career and journey and working in getting to know everybody, staff and faculty and students, so I can't have had it more blessed in life and career. And so I'll just end with the parting words, please. Stay safe and well. And I appreciate that you listened in and please have an open mind and sort of embrace some of the changes in the future and the vision that Kathy has to offer. And with this, I think we’ll end the town hall. Thank you very much.