The University's Schools of Allied Health, Nursing and Pharmacy have formed an alliance to increase collaboration and planning among the programs.

Under the arrangement, each school remains independent with separate deans and faculty governance. The three deans will meet monthly.

The alliance's objectives include:

• increasing enrollment, recruitment and retention;
  
  
• increasing the number of students from underrepresented populations;
  
  
• increasing the resources available through coordinated development programs;
  
  
• collaborating on research and funding programs to increase scholarly work and raise money through grants, contracts and special projects;
  
  
• sharing extended and continuing education efforts;
  
  
• increasing the efficiency of projects with the Health Center;
  
  
• increasing the quality of academic programs through curriculum development and creating under- graduate and graduate courses jointly listed among the schools;
  
  
• conducting joint research meetings and speakers to help in staff development;
  
  
• sharing faculty and exploring joint appointments;
  
  
• helping develop partnerships with outside organizations;
  
  
• working with the Alumni Association to increase support of the schools.
  
  

Fred Maryanski, interim chancellor, notes that recruiting students into the health sciences at UConn is important for the three schools. Although the schools' focus continues to be recruiting within Connecticut, they will recruit nationally as well.

The alliance is expected to make the schools more visible both internally and externally. "They are looking at opportunities to work together on the visibility of the partner schools within the University, so people can think of them as a unit," Maryanski says. "They also can take a unified public position on health issues."

Joseph Smey, dean of the School of Allied Health, says he is optimistic the alliance will help the individual schools fulfill their missions.

"I think it will help us better use our resources and create efficiencies of operations," he says. "It will allow us to exceed what we can do individually. Our output will exceed the sum of the parts."

Smey says the three schools have a long history of working together, "but not in a sustained way. This institutionalizes the cooperation," he says, "and allows us to move forward with initiatives that benefit all three."

Ken Ross