Jennifer D. Robinson and Megan N. Willson, both faculty members in the Department of Pharmacotherapy at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy, have been promoted to the rank of clinical associate professor, effective July 1, 2015.
“Both make invaluable contributions to our college and we—as well as our students—are very fortunate to have them as members of our faculty,” wrote the dean, Gary M. Pollack, in an announcement to college faculty and staff.
Robinson has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from WSU and professional certifications in immunization, emergency contraception and tobacco cessation. Robinson joined the WSU faculty in 2008, and has served as the director of student services for the Doctor of Pharmacy program since 2011.
“Dr. Robinson is an innovator,” said John R. White, chair of the pharmacotherapy department. “She was perhaps the first of our faculty to embrace active learning and has been very successful incorporating these novel methods of teaching into her classroom.”
Robinson teaches Introduction to Therapeutic Agents (Top 200 Drugs) to first-year student pharmacists, and she also teaches a leadership and professional development elective for third-year student pharmacists. She was selected as a WSU College of Pharmacy Teacher of the Year in 2012, and was recognized by the students in the pharmacy leadership society Phi Lambda Sigma in 2014 as an honorary member for her contributions as a faculty mentor.
Robinson also serves as the chair of the admission committee and the experiential advisory board for the college. Her research interests include leadership, innovative teaching methods, and clinical community practice.
Robinson has been an “agent of change” in the student services office for the improvements she has made in how the college recruits new students and how prospective students apply for admission, said White. “The process she fashioned is remarkable and memorable for the applicants. It provides the successful applicant with long-lasting personal connections to current students, alumni, and faculty. We are very pleased that she is going to be promoted to clinical associate professor,” he said.
Willson has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. She completed a pharmacy practice residency at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri, where she also worked as a staff pharmacist before joining the WSU faculty in 2007. She holds dual appointments with WSU and Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center where she serves as the pharmacist on the internal medicine residency team.
“Dr. Willson is a very respected clinician on the Spokane Internal Medicine service at Sacred Heart Medical Center. She uses her practice to provide a cutting edge rotation experience for our students. In addition to her work at the hospital she teaches here on the WSU Spokane campus and is involved with her colleagues in a multitude of scholarly endeavors,” said White.
At WSU she teaches first-year student pharmacists in professional communications, teaches in the Applied Patient Care Lab to third-year student pharmacists, and serves as a preceptor in acute care and internal medicine for fourth-year student pharmacists.
Willson also conducts research related to patient safety, including medication complexity, health literacy and patient communication, and she is involved in the college’s human patient simulation team.
“Dr. Willson is involved in essentially every aspect of our college and her work in all areas is impeccable,” said White. “She is always reliable and always willing to help with any situation. We applaud her promotion to clinical associate professor,” said White.
[July 1, 2015] by: Lori J. Maricle