Students choose outstanding teachers

Brent Crenshaw (left) presents the Introductory Practice Experience Preceptor of the Year award to John Bridges, who offers pharmacy students an introductory pharmacy practice experience at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women in Memphis.

tudents selected three faculty members to receive awards for teaching excellence during the pharmacy school's spring commencement ceremony.

Students in the first year of the pharmacy program (PY1) chose John Rimoldi, professor of medicinal chemistry, as their Teacher of the Year. PY4 students graduating with Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degrees selected John Bridges, director of pharmaceutical services at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women in Memphis, to receive the Introductory Practice Experience Preceptor of the Year award and Richard "Buddy" Ogletree, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice and coordinator of Drug Information and Investigational Drugs at the UM Medical Center, as their Advanced Practice Experience Preceptor of the Year.

PY2 students selected Erin Holmes, assistant professor of pharmacy administration, as their Teacher of the Year, and PY3 students, who study at the UM Medical Center, chose Laurie Warrington, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice, to receive their Clinical Sciences Teacher of the Year award. Holmes and Warrington received their awards at the pharmacy school's awards day in April.

Pharmacy students selected John Rimoldi and Erin Holmes to receive 2011 Teacher of the Year awards.

"All of these faculty members really care about their students, and they have an uncanny ability to engage students and stimulate their desire to learn," said Marvin Wilson, associate dean for academic and student affairs. "Their attitude toward teaching and students, plus their ability to deliver contemporary course content, makes students appreciate the time they spend with them in the classroom or in their pharmacy practice."

Rimoldi, who teaches pharmacogenetics and pharmacoimmunology to PY1 students, was also named to his second three-year term as the pharmacy school's Galen Order Distinguished Teaching Scholar. His other awards include the pharmacy school's 2002 Faculty Service Award and the university's 2002 Faculty Achievement Award for professional scholarship, high scholarly standards and overall outstanding career performance.

Bridges offers UM pharmacy students an introductory pharmacy practice experience at BMH for Women in Memphis. During the week-long rotation, the students become acquainted with the practice of pharmacy in an institutional setting dedicated to innovative and progressive medication therapy management and patient-focused services.

Richard "Buddy" Ogletree (right) receives the Advanced Practice Experience Preceptor of the Year award from Brent Crenshaw of Southaven, president of the 2011 pharmacy class.

Ogletree provides students an advanced pharmacy practice experience at the UM Medical Center, where he also chairs the Institutional Review Board and serves on Ethics, Patients' Rights and Research Compliance committees. Pharm.D. students chose Ogletree to receive the Clinical Sciences Teacher of the Year award in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Holmes teaches a pharmacy law course for PY2 students. She also teaches an elective in personal finance to prepare students to manage the money they will make when they enter the pharmacy profession. In addition to advising pre-pharmacy students, she is a faculty leader for Rho Chi, pharmacy's academic honor society.

Laurie Warrington, who received the 2011 Clinical Sciences Teacher of the Year award, counsels a patient at the G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center in Yazoo City.

Through the Health Resources and Services Administration's Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative, Warrington has an ambulatory care practice and facilitates problem-based learning groups for PY3 students. She also is heavily involved in pharmacy students' service projects at the UM Medical Center and in the Jackson area.

Recipients of teaching and preceptor awards receive a plaque and a monetary award. They are nominated by class members and voted on by a selection committee. The president of each class presents the awards at commencement.

"Because teaching and student learning are our No. 1 priorities, we give students in each class an opportunity to honor faculty members they believe are exceptional educators," said Barbara G. Wells, pharmacy school dean. "Each of these faculty members is sincerely committed to students' academic success, and their approach to their work is a stellar example for faculty and administrators alike."