Brad Wingo, M.Ed., has returned to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as the director of the Office of Curricular and Student Affairs. Wingo worked at the School previously as the director of student affairs and spent a year in between as the director of academic advising in the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University.
The Office of Curricular and Student Affairs was formerly two separate offices, the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Experiential Education. Wingo said he is excited by the new opportunities the combined office offers to align the curriculum and cocurriculum and better serve both professional and graduate students.
The cocurriculum is characterized by the full range of student experiences, levels of engagement, types of involvement and sets of programming that directly supplement and complement the learning that is occurring within the academic curriculum, according to the definition adopted by the School.
“Oftentimes the curriculum and cocurriculum live in different worlds in an academic institution although they share many student-related outcomes,” Wingo said. “Now that we have a unit that combines them, I am confident that we can posit a greater beneficial effect on the overall growth and development of our students that positions them for sustainable success after graduation.”
Wingo said these changes were motivated by new standards set by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education The standards require schools of pharmacy to both demonstrate the value the cocurriculum adds to its programs and strengthen the impact of experiential education. The new office will take strategic planning retreats to map priorities given its expanded focus within the professional and graduate programs.
Wingo chaired a cocurricular working group at the School before he left, and he said that many of the initiatives the group recommended will continue to guide the unit’s practice as he steps into his new role. Some examples include empowering student organizations to plan, implement and assess high impact professional development experiences and partnering more closely with alumni to better prepare students for careers.
In addition, Wingo said the office will begin work to streamline processes and improve efficiencies related to experiential education, working closely with other school administrators and site partners. As always, the office continues working on new and dynamic means of recruiting students.
Wingo was awarded the School’s first Phyllis Smith Award for Staff Excellence in 2013, an award and stipend presented annually to a staff member to recognize overall excellence in performance and contribution to the School and who not only performs all duties competently but goes beyond his or her job description. His resume boasts awards for excellence from almost every place he’s worked.
Wingo initially came to the School in 2011 from N.C. State. There he directed the Student Success and Advising Center and coordinated advising for the College of Education from 2008 to 2011. Prior to that, he was the director of the Student Support Center at North Carolina Wesleyan College for five years.