Pharmacy Education 2023 - Speakers
Opening General Session
Developing a Digital Mindset
Rapid advances in digital technologies are threatening to change how we work. To thrive in a world driven by data and powered by algorithms, we must learn to see, think, and act in new ways. We need to develop a digital mindset. In this talk, Dr. Paul Leonardi discusses how educators and practitioners can build a digital mindset in this new age of AI. He will begin by discussing the skills educators need to be able to successfully deploy AI tools in the classroom and he will demonstrate ways to teach students to take advantage of new digital capabilities. He will then discuss changes to work that are likely to affect pharmacists in the coming years and he will offer advice on how to prepare our students to embrace these changes and to carve out distinct roles for themselves in the digital economy.
Paul Leonardi, Ph.D.
Dr. Paul Leonardi is the Duca Family Professor of Technology Management at UC Santa Barbara. He holds appointments in the Technology Management Program and the Department of Communication.
Dr. Leonardi’s research, teaching, and consulting focus on helping companies to create and share knowledge more effectively. He is interested in how implementing new technologies and harnessing the power of informal social networks can help companies take advantage of their knowledge assets to create innovative products and services.
He has authored more than 60 articles that have appeared in top journals across the fields of Management, Communication, and Information Systems. He also publishes his work for managers and executives in outlets such as Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. He is the author of four books on technological innovation and organizational change, including the award-winning, Car Crashes Without Cars and Technology Choices. His latest book, co-authored with Tsedal Neeley is The Digital Mindset: What it Really Takes to Thrive in the Age of Data, Algorithms, and AI.
At UCSB, he is director of the Ph.D. program in Organization Studies within the Department of Technology Management. Previously, he served as the founding director of the Master of Technology Management (MTM) program, a professional management program for technical leaders, which he launched in 2015 and ran until 2019.
AACP President
Russell B. Melchert, Ph.D., R.Ph.
Dr. Russell B. Melchert (Russ) serves as the dean of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Pharmacy. Dr. Melchert completed a B.S. in pharmacy and Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy, and he maintains active pharmacy licensure in two states. Following graduate school, he joined the Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology at the University of Texas College of Pharmacy as an NIEHS post-doctoral trainee. Dr. Melchert received his first faculty appointment in 1995 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy and worked his way through the ranks to full professor. From 2004-2010, Dr. Melchert served as chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UAMS. He joined UMKC as dean and professor of pharmacology & pharmaceutical sciences in 2010 and served as interim dean of the School of Dentistry in 2020-2021. He remains active teaching in pharmacy, dental and graduate curricula and has received over 20 awards from students for his instructional efforts. He has published numerous scholarly works in pharmacology, toxicology, pharmaceutical sciences, and pharmacy education, and his research work has been funded by the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health. Dr. Melchert served as chair the Council of Deans of AACP from 2019-2020, and most recently he was elected to serve as president-elect of AACP in 2021-2022.
AACP President-Elect
Craig D. Cox, Pharm.D.
Dr. Craig D. Cox is a professor of pharmacy practice and division head for adult medicine. He is also the vice chair of experiential programs at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy (TTUHSC SOP) in Lubbock, Texas, where he has been on faculty for 20 years. He received his Pharm.D. from Washington State University and completed a critical care residency at TTUHSC SOP in Amarillo. Dr. Cox provides clinical pharmacy services on the adult medicine ward at University Medical Center. He has served as the preceptor for more than 400 students and residents on six-week rotations. He has been elected to national leadership positions with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), including chair of Experiential Education Section, chair of Council of Sections, and chair of Council of Faculties. Each leadership role consisted of a three-year term, with Dr. Cox spending six years on the Board of Directors.
Dr. Cox has co-led numerous AACP institutes focused on experiential education both in the United States and abroad. He has participated in multiple strategic planning initiatives with AACP, led development of the annual Teacher’s Seminar focused on diversity and inclusion, and chaired the association-wide programming committee that led to major changes to the program selection process. Dr. Cox has a passion in self-discovery and team development. More recently he has led the rollout of the EQi-2.0 (emotional assessment) to all faculty, students, and staff at the School of Pharmacy, while serving as a consultant for other health profession programs at his institution.