Report of the Speaker of the House of Delegates

Cynthia J. Boyle

doi:10.5688/ajpe777S6

July 17, 2013

The responsibilities of Speaker of the AACP House of Delegates transitioned for the fourth time on July 17, 2013 at the final session of the House of Delegates at the Annual Meeting. Rod Carter and John Pieper were the first and second Speakers of the House; I was delighted to serve as Speaker-elect during the final year of Dr. Pieper’s term of office and as Speaker for two years. This role also involves membership on the Board of Directors and more recently on the AACP Executive Committee. Phil Hritcko (University of Connecticut) has been installed as the fourth Speaker and will conduct the business of the House over the next two years.

Much of the work of the House occurs behind the scenes. I appreciate the ongoing service of Lawrence “LB” Brown (Chapman University) as parliamentarian. Lucinda Maine is a steady presence as House Secretary and provides institutional perspectives. AACP staff members Whitney Zatzkin (2012) and Jen Adams (2013) provided capable and efficient administrative support.

What have we done?

I have seen tremendous progress in the support of delegates and the policy process over several years. First and foremost we have engaged faculty members and administrators, as well as our organizational units within AACP, in policy for pharmacy education. As we attempt to foresee the future for our graduates, we continually promote change and advance innovation which ultimately affects the health of our nation.

I was fortunate to serve on the Bylaws and Policy Development Committee as a member and chair prior to my term as Speaker. During this time we have:

• Improved communications with delegates through new delegate orientation and policy Webinars prior to the Annual Meeting.
• Provided archived Webinars to delegates who were not able to participate in the live sessions.
• Reviewed and archived policies (2011).
• Updated House Rules of Procedure (2011).
• Engaged in an open forum (2012) on “What is Policy?” and reaffirmed the need for and the unique role of the AACP House of Delegates.
• Explored best practices for engaging delegates (2011-2012 Committee on Delegate Engagement and Deployment) including terms of office, selection/election and transitions.
• Accomplished comprehensive revision of the AACP Bylaws (adopted July 17, 2013), including review of the Articles of Incorporation.

What remains to be done?

As with any process of continuing improvement, the work of the House continues. Speaker Hritcko will have many opportunities to enhance previous activities. Among these potential initiatives are:

• Continuation of the new delegate and policy Webinars and discontinuation of the onsite orientation at the Annual Meeting.
• Reconsideration of the deadline for resolutions at the Annual Meeting in light of new Special Interest Group meeting schedules.
• Revision of the House Rules of Procedure, including references to Articles in the revised bylaws.
• Engagement of the Library and Information Science Section to assist with organizing and cataloging AACP policies with a search function to assist members with referencing.
• Establishment of an online process for resolutions submissions including rationale and inclusion of relevant existing policies, if applicable.
• Continued education of members on the distinctions among policies (AACP position, value or belief on an issue related to pharmacy education), recommendations (to AACP), and suggestions (to schools/colleges).

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to have served as AACP Speaker, and I encourage others to consider this elected office. The voice of the members in the form of the House of Delegates sits as the top of the organizational chart of AACP. I have enjoyed working with delegates from across the country in our now 130 schools/colleges and especially value the collegial culture of our “legislative process” where administrative and faculty delegates are equally represented. We can be proud of our collective efforts on behalf of pharmacy education.