Mercer University The Rho Chi Society Gamma Alpha Chapter 2007 – 2008 Chapter Report
Date of Submission: May 15, 2008 University Name: Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Chapter Name and Region: Gamma Alpha Chapter Region III Southeast Chapter Delegate: Lilian Ndehi (lilian.n.ndehi@student.mercer.edu) 2007 – 2008 Chapter Officers: President: Lilian Ndehi (lilian.n.ndehi@student.mercer.edu) Vice-President: Ruaa Al-Baldawi (ruua.al-baldawi@student.mercer.edu) Secretary: Melissa Martin (melissa.j.martin@student.mercer.edu) Treasurer: Liju Abraham (liju.abraham@student.mercer.edu) Historian: Allison Bell (allison.m.bell@student.mercer.edu) 2008 – 2009 Chapter Officers: President: Mindy La (ngoc.my.la@student.mercer.edu) Vice-President: Courtney Mays (courtney.anne.mays@student.mercer.edu) Secretary: Leena Amine (leena.amine@student.mercer.edu) Treasurer: Omotola Oluyide (omotola.oluyide@student.mercer.edu) Historian: Allyson Berg (allyson.m.berg@student.mercer.edu) Chapter Advisor Stanley H. Pollock, Ph.D. (pollock_s@mercer.edu)
Introduction: Mercer University’s Rho Chi Chapter is proud to present to you the Annual Chapter Report for the 2007- 2008 academic year. During this past year, the Gamma Alpha Chapter has attempted to revitalize the image of The Rho Chi Society at Mercer University. This has been accomplished by implementing a number of new activities and programs, as well as, attempting to involve the all students and faculty in these initiatives. We have been very successful at attaining all of the goals set forth by the Gamma Alpha Chapter officers and members. We hope that you enjoy learning about our chapter’s meetings, activities, and goals as you read this report. We have all truly enjoyed being a part of this prestigious society. Gamma Alpha Meeting Information: 1. August 24th, 2007 a. Number in Attendance: 15 b. Agenda i. Introductory meeting ii. Officers introduction iii. Discussion of goals for the year iv. Finalization of Farmacy Feud v. Chapter dues discussed vi. Discussion and voting of newly elected members for the fall semester: Fourteen students were elected for membership into the chapter c. Actions i. Attend Farmacy Feud ii. Collect chapter dues before September 7th meeting. iii. Attend the tap-in ceremony for the newly elected members on August 28th at 9:00am. th 2. September 7 , 2007 a. Number in Attendance: 24 b. Agenda: i. Sign sympathy card for member’s loss family member ii. Officer introduction to newly elected members and reiteration of the year’s goals and activities iii. Discussion of committee chairs and committee members iv. Discussion of tutoring program v. Discuss Rho Chi t-shirt ideas vi. Discussion of Member of the Year vii. Discussion of cook-out c. Actions i. Determine members who would like to be committee chairs and the committees each member would like to join ii. Determine t-shirt design iii. Recruit members to tutor for the fall semester classes 3. October 5th, 2007
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a. Number in attendance: 23 b. Agenda: i. Discussion of Newly Elected Member Initiation ii. Discussion of Tutoring program iii. Discussion of Financial Planning Seminar iv. Selection of Committee Chairs v. Discussion and sign-up for Polo Shirt Fundraiser vi. Selection of chapter t-shirt design c. Actions; i. RSVP for the initiation ceremony ii. Finalize volunteers for tutoring iii. Polo Shirt Fundraising 4. January 18th, 2008 a. Number in attendance: 25 b. Agenda: i. Discussion of end of the year banquet/initiation ii. Discussion and voting of newly elected members for the spring semester: Fifteen students were elected for membership into the chapter c. Actions: i. Attend tap-in ceremony for newly elected members on January 23rd at 3:00 5. January 25th, 2008 a. Number in attendance: 23 b. Agenda: i. Introduction of officers and committee chairs ii. Discussion of chapter goals iii. Discussion of banquet iv. Discussion of tutoring for spring semester classes v. Discussion of future fundraising activities vi. Discussion of Faculty Appreciation Week vii. Discussion of Dress for Success Fashion Show viii. Discussion of Member of the Year c. Actions: i. Finalize volunteers for tutoring for spring classes ii. Finalize details of banquet/initiation 6. March 14th, 2008 a. Number in attendace:22 b. Agenda: i. Discussion of Dress for Success Fashion Show ii. Discussion of future social event iii. Discussion of Funny Faculty Quotes t-shirt fundraiser iv. Discussion of election of new officers v. Discussion of banquet c. Actions: i. Sign-up for Fashion Show models ii. RSVP for banquet iii. Participation in t-shirt fundraiser
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7. April 11th, 2008 a. Number in attendance:30 b. Agenda: i. Nomination of Officers for 2008-2009 school year ii. Discussion of Banquet/New Member Initiation iii. Discussion and Selection of Faculty Member of the Year c. Actions: i. Attend Banquet/New Member Initiation ii. Old Member/New Member Exchange of Notebooks and Responsibilities
Strategic Planning: What goals were set that relate to the Rho Chi mission? Have Rho Chi Society, Gamma Alpha Chapter, be among the most active organization on campus by having at least one program per month that is connected to the mission of the organization. Have members more involved in the organization and promote fellowship among members. Do this by having committee’s and social events. Encourage members to learn the missions of the society, and apply the missions in their daily activities. This is so that the members as well as the University community may know there is more to Rho Chi Society other than recognizing individuals who have achieved academic excellence. Encourage Rho Chi Faculty involvement in events implemented by the organization. Activities for the Year: Fall Semester All Semester: Tutoring Program The Pharm. D Curriculum is a very rigorous program and there are students that have a difficult time grasping material in the more challenging classes. Since Rho Chi members have been able to succeed in these classes, it is an opportunity to impart information to these students. The previous year, the past Rho Chi president, Maney Mazloom, and the Dean of the College of Pharmacy Dean Matthews had agreed that the Dean’s office would pay for students who were have a challenging time in pharmacy classes. This was a great opportunity because it did not limit how much hours a student could meet with the tutor because of the cost. Rho chi members signed up to tutor a variety of subjects offered to the first, second and third year pharmacy students. The president went to the different classes and explained to the students the classes that Rho Chi Society was offering tutoring. She also sent out an e-mail to the school. When a student requested tutoring, he or she would contact the president/tutoring coordinator. The tutoring coordinator would request the student to fill out an application and would match the student with a tutor. Once the match was completed, the student could meet with the tutor as soon as possible. At the end of the tutoring session, the student would fill out a tutor evaluation form. The tutoring co-coordinator would look at the forms (that remained anonymous). If there were certain complaints or requests for improvement, the tutoring coordinator would meet with the tutor and provided positive feedback as well as constructive criticism. At the end of two
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weeks, the Rho Chi tutor would receive a pay check from the dean’s office and a portion of the money would go to the Gamma Alpha Chapter. We had a very successful year with the tutoring program. We were able tutor a total of 349 hours. By Rho Chi Society working with the Dean’s office to offset the tutoring fee, the Rho Chi tutors had a great impact on pharmacy students. We were able to promote academic achievement by assisting students to master both study skills and the class material. May: PCAT Review Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences holds a PCAT review every summer. This was an opportunity for Rho Chi Society to encourage intellectual achievement by imparting useful information for potential pharmacy students. A representative of the organization participated in the event by teaching chemistry and answering questions pertaining to the material. The potential pharmacy students noted that the individual was in an honor society and was therefore successful academically. They asked numerous questions on how to do well on the PCAT and in pharmacy school. This was an excellent event that encouraged intellectual achievement in individuals who may be the upcoming pharmacists. Note: The introduction slide used in the PCAT review is attached. August: Welcome to Atlanta Party The Welcome to Atlanta Party is an annual event at Mercer University that is organized by the Council of Students to welcome the first year Pharmacy students to the Mercer community. At this event, all organizations are encouraged to set-up a table to promote their organization to new and current students and faculty members. The Gamma Alpha Chapter set up a table and handed out information about The Rho Chi Society, the tutoring provided by the organization, and some helpful hints to starting the school year off right. All officers were present to answer questions from students and promote the organization. This event has been an ongoing activity for many years. August: Welcome to Mercer Pamphlet When students join pharmacy school, they have problems adjusting to the rigorous program. Keeping this in mind, Rho Chi Society created a “Welcome to Mercer Pamphlet” for the first year pharmacy students. The pamphlet contained the most frequency asked questions such as study skills, time management, extracurricular activities (see attached document). These pamphlets were placed in each P1s mail box. In addition, an e-mail was sent to the class letting them know that there was a Mercer Pamphlet in their mailbox and if they had any questions they should feel free to contact any Rho Chi member. By providing these pamphlets, it provided Rho Chi with an opportunity to promote academic achievement and promote critical inquiries in pharmacy through encouraging participating of extracurricular activities. Note: Welcome to Mercer Pamphlet is attached to this document.
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August: Farmacy Feud On Tuesday August 28th, Mercer University’s Gamma Alpha Chapter of The Rho Chi Society hosted its first ever “Farmacy Feud Game Show” in Sheffield gym from 4:30-6pm. The event was sponsored by CVS CAREMARK and audience members enjoyed a meal from Chick-Fil-A during the game show and audience participation prizes for answering questions correctly. “Pharmacy Feud” was Rho Chi’s version of the game show Family Feud. One “family” consisted of Mercer Pharmacy faculty and the other of Rho Chi students. Our host for the game show was our very own Dean Hewitt W. “Ted” Matthews. The “Fabulous Faculty” team consisted of Dr. Stanley Pollock, Dr. Nader Moniri, Dr. Julie Kissack, Dr. Lisa Lundquist, and Dr. Kristi Quairoli. The “Furious Farmacy Fanatics” student team consisted of Lilian Ndehi, Allison Bell, Derek Polly, Cory McDonald, and Crystal Cooper. The idea behind the game was to encourage not only Pharmacy faculty and student involvement. The game show fostered teamwork amongst the faculty and the students, communication between the teams, as well as, school spirit within the audience. The event was attended by about 100 students, faculty, and staff from Mercer University Atlanta campus, many of whom enjoyed watching the match between Mercer faculty and Rho Chi students. Several items including a $25 I-Tunes gift card were raffled off to various audience members during the intermission. In the end, the Rho Chi students beat the faculty by a small margin after much going back and forth of points between the two teams. The winners had their names engraved on a trophy that is now displayed in the The Rho Chi Society display case in the Duvall building. Also, a team shirt signed by all the game participants was presented in a shadow box to Walt Rogers, who was in attendance on behalf of CVS along with other CVS representatives. All participants enjoyed the game show and the faculty hopes to play again next year in an effort to redeem themselves. Note: Fliers and photographs of the event are attached. September – Rho Chi Member and Faculty Cookout On September 19th, 2008, the Gamma Alpha Chapter held the first ever student and faculty cookout. This event was held at the on-campus apartments and all Rho Chi student and faculty members were invited to attend. Out of 31 Rho Chi members, 21 were able to attend. Burgers, hotdogs, chips, cookies, and drinks were served. The event was designed to allow student and faculty to interact outside of the school environment and promote relations between the two. This was an event that enabled the Gamma Alpha Chapter to promote fellowship among members. This is because majority of the members did not know each other well and through this relaxing environment, the members had an opportunity to do that. Note: See photographs of the event attached October – Polo Shirt Fundraiser The Rho Chi Society annually sells polo shirts with Mercer Pharmacy School emblem on the right chest area. The fundraising committee sat in between the pharmacy classrooms daily during class breaks to take orders for the shirts. Both men’s and women’s shirts were available in various colors and sizes. Both the men’s and the women’s shirts were sold at $23 each, and $25
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for any sizes over X-Large. We sold a total of 82 shirts this year to the students and faculty members. The total cost of the shirts was $1470.38. We did make a great profit from this fundraiser activity of $451.12. This fundraiser has been an annual Rho Chi event for several years. The purpose of this fundraiser is to raise money to fund other academic and service projects. October – Financial Planning Seminar The financial planning Seminar was held on October 19th at 12:00 noon. A financial planner, Mike Tarrant, was the speaker of the event. Mike Tarrant was a great presenter because he has been a featured speaker at Georgia Pharmacist Health Association. To encourage participation, free lunch that was sponsored by Publix Pharmacy, was provided to the students. A total of 77 students attended the event. To ensure everyone who wanted to hear about what the financial planner had to say such as avoid getting into unnecessary debt, ways of financing the high cost of education, the seminar was recorded and was available on the school website. Also, the handout was e-mailed out to the school. This was a very important event because pharmacy student and a pharmacist not only needs to be a drugs expert but need to have high standards of conduct and character by being financial responsibility. Note: Slide advertising event is attached October – Fall New Member Initiation The fall new member initiation took place on October 26th, 2008 at 12:00pm. This initiation is informal compared to the initiation/banquet that is held in the spring (described in detail below). The event consisted of a nice lunch and initiation ceremony which included members and faculty. Fourteen new members were initiated into The Rho Chi Society and each received a certificate and pin. The event was held in the Trustee’s Dining Room on campus and concluded at 1:00pm. November and December – Toy Drive This year many of the organizations at Mercer decided to participate in a campus-wide toy drive for local children’s hospital and shelter. The Rho Chi Society was one of the organizations that decided to participate in this service project; this was the first year we decided to do so. Bins were set up around the school to collect toys and other donations to be given to the children for Christmas. The event was designed to help those in need, and it was very successful on a campus-wide level. December – Christmas Party The annual Christmas Party was held in the evening the last day of classes for the fall semester at our advisor, Dr. Pollock’s home. Each member signed up to bring a different appetizer, dessert, or drink. Dr. Pollock was responsible for the lasagna that was served for the main course. The dinner allowed us all to eat and relax and it fostered relations among all in attendance.
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Spring Semester Tutoring Program (please see above) January – Back to School Brain Bonanza During the month of January of this year, the Gamma Alpha Chapter organized and implemented the “Back to School Brain Bonanza” program. Three questions were e-mailed to the pharmacy school at the beginning of each week and the students had until the end of the week to submit answers. These questions were from various areas of pharmacy. The student who responded first with 3 correct answers was declared the winner. The winner was then given a gift card. At the end of each week, the answers were e-mailed to the school. This event provided the Gamma Alpha Chapter with an opportunity to promote critical inquiries in of pharmacy. By students researching for the answers, and by e-mailing out the correct answers, students were able to learn new information about some aspect of pharmacy including pharmacy’s history and pharmacists’ legal, social and professional responsibilities. Note: Questions and Answers used in this event are attached February – Chapter T-Shirt In order to express a sense of pride of being part of the Rho Chi Society, and as an opportunity for the members and the school to know the missions of the organization, the Gamma Alpha Chapter designed a t-shirt for the organization. The chapter had the opportunity to wear the shirt during the last meeting of the semester and during the Welcome to Atlanta Party held in April. Note: T-shirt Designs Attached March – Dress for Success Fashion Show Rho Chi hosted its 5th Annual Fashion show in which both students and faculty modeled both appropriate and inappropriate dress attire for Business formal, Business casual, and Casual categories. The event was attended by both Mercer Pharmacy students and nursing school students. The event was sponsored by Walmart and our Emcee was one of our faculty members Dr. Nader Moniri. The purpose of the fashion show was to promote professionalism (appropriate professional attire) within pharmacy school and outside of school (on rotations, residency interviews, etc.). This was an important event because professional dress and attitude is an important component of professionalism. Approximately 70 students, faculty and Mercer staff attended the event. It was a huge success. April – Spring New Member Initiation and End of the Year Banquet (please see Initiation Function section)
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Financial/ Budgeting: Using the Microsoft Excel worksheet, Liju Abraham, the treasurer of Rho Chi kept in track of every transaction that took place this year. The worksheet also contained a financial summery of any fundraisers or events. At the end of each month, the treasurer also made sure the account statements received from the band matched with the computer transaction list. At the beginning of the year, the chapter was started with a small balance from the previous year’s budget. The goal for fundraising was at least $3000.00. The chapter conducted several fundraisers – such as Tutoring in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008, Farmacy Feud, Financial Planning Seminar, Polo Shirt sale, Chapter t-shirt sale, and Fashion Show – to improve our account balance. At the beginning of Fall 2007, the Dean of our pharmacy school approved a tutoring reimbursement of $4330 to the Rho Chi chapter. For every hour a Rho Chi member tutors a student, the chapter received $5 and the member was paid $15. This year, our chapter members were actively involved in tutoring other pharmacy students while at the same time taking advantage of this opportunity as a great fundraiser. By January of 2008, the chapter had used up all the tutoring hours and was approved for another 120 hours ($2400) as a tutoring reimbursement to meet tutoring expense for remaining of this semester. The chapter was able to raise a total of $3980.00 which was above the goal set at the beginning of the year. A list of all transactions is kept on record by the treasurer and is frequently approved for accuracy by the chapter advisor as well as the president. So far, our chapter has been very successful with our budget and has raised sufficient funds to promote service projects, conduct pharmacy oriented meetings, and to cover expenses for our annual banquet/new member initiation function. Initiation Function: The spring initiation function is held in conjunction with the end-of-the-year banquet each year. This year’s events were held on Friday, April 18th in the evening at 103 West, an uptown banquet/dinner facility. All members were invited to attend and they could bring a guest. Each member’s and guest meal and was paid for be the chapter. Our faculty advisor, as well as, the faculty member of the year was present. A three course meal was served to kick off the event. After dinner, the guest speaker gave her presentation. Our speaker, Sharon Sherrer, is the current President of the Georgia Pharmacy Association (GPhA) and a local community pharmacy owner. Following the speaker, a summary of the year’s activities and budget were reviewed. Special recognition of faculty members, officers, and other chapter members were presented as well. The chapter president was presented with a gavel engraved with her name (a chapter ritual). A slide show was also shown of the past year’s activities. Following the slide show, the new member initiation was performed. The ceremony was performed and the appropriate readings were made by each officer. The new members were invited into the society and each signed the chapter roll book from years past. The event concluded with the closing by the incoming chapter president. Overall, the event was a wonderful time to fellowship, recognize our chapter’s accomplishments from the year, as well as, initiate new members into the chapter.
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Evaluation/Reflection: Please provide a reflective paragraph that evaluates the effectiveness of your activities and ways to improve. Information that may be included in this section includes number of members participating, number of others involved in the activity (e.g., recipients of outreach), feedback from members and others who were involved in the activities. The 2007-2008 was a great year for the Gamma Alpha Chapter. It was able to have events that met each mission of the Rho Chi Society. Numerous pharmacy students and faculty members commented on how active the Rho Chi Society had been this year and they appreciated the events we implemented. Furthermore, there were more members involved due to the formation of committees and social events. The chapter provided additional leadership opportunities by having committee chairs. Due to the leadership team comprised of the officers and the committee chairs, the organization was able to meet its strategic goals for the year. The Gamma Alpha Chapter was able to have a positive impact on the University Community. It was recognized as an organization that has missions and a vision. However, we could be more involved in service outreach. In the upcoming year, the organization plans to be involved in more service outreach programs. It also plans to have joint programs with other organizations on-campus as this will facilitate meeting the societies’ mission.
Some chapters have been relatively inactive in past years, but current students/advisors have made great strides to increase the activities/projects of their chapter. Therefore Rho Chi has instituted a new designation for a chapter award – the “Most Improved Chapter Award.” If you would like to be considered for a “Most Improved Chapter Award,” please indicate your significant improvement(s) below. The Gamma Alpha Chapter would like to be considered for the “Most Improved Chapter Award.” This is because: 1. As compared to previous years, the Gamma Alpha Chapter was one of the most active chapters on the Mercer Atlanta Campus. This is because we implemented at least one program every month during the school year. Also when we sent out e-mails to the school, we mentioned the mission of the organization. The school community learnt that there was more to the organization than being top 20% of the class. 2. The Chapter was able to implement at least five new programs that met the missions of The Rho Chi Society. The new programs included the PCAT review, Farmacy Feud, Rho Chi Cook-Out, Back to School Brain Bonanza and the Toy drive. 3. There was more member involvement in the organization compared to previous years. This is because we set up committees and we had members instead of officers lead the different teams. The committees included: Service and Professionalism committee, Fundraising committee, Social Committee and Banquet committee. 4. To ensure that members remained involved in the organization and were aware of what was going on, we held seven meetings during the year and two initiation ceremonies. These meetings encouraged members to be active participants. As a result, we were able to
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positively impact the members and the University Community by implementing different programs. 5. The Gamma Alpha Chapter was able to implement new fundraising events and was able to raise more funds that expected. The new fundraising events included the Farmacy Feud, and Famous Faculty Quotes T-shirt sales. 6. The chapter created a t-shirt that all members could wear with pride. This promoted fellowship among members. Of note, the t-shirts contained the missions of the organization. The members, university and neighboring committees had the opportunity to read and learn the missions of the organization.
Other information: If you would like to provide other information about your chapter that was not included in the above categories (e.g., development of a new website, organizing a regional meeting etc.), please add it here:
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