The dog days of summer are upon us here in Tucson, with temperatures hovering around the 100°F mark nearly every day. Most of the students are away doing summer jobs, traveling, or performing clerkships, and it is a time to catch up on research and writing or do the many other activities associated with academia. In the desert, we dream of cooler climes and head to them when possible. The summer is also a time to catch up on reading, and I thought it would be nice to let you know what is on my list with respect to ACCP.

My first major reading project is associated with the results of the ACCP governance survey that many of you responded to the past spring. I would like to begin by thanking all of you who took the time to respond to the survey. The results suggest several opportunities for ACCP to better inform its members about the governance processes and the ways we might better involve members in our activities. The survey was initiated because the last time we asked members about these issues, the organization was half its current size and the membership was somewhat different from what it is today. As I read the responses of our members, I was increasingly excited about the opportunities available for ACCP to become an even better representative of its members than in the past. The Board of Regents (BOR) and ACCP staff will begin reviewing these results at the summer board meeting. After this initial review, where some “low-hanging fruit” changes might be undertaken by the BOR, it is planned that President-Elect Tisdale will create a task force drawn from diverse member categories to review the results and make recommendations to the BOR for ways to continue making organizational improvements.

The second reading project has been a real joy. ACCP commissioned Bob Elenbaas and Dennis Worthen to document the history of clinical pharmacy in the United States. I had the pleasure of reviewing this work and can say, without a doubt, that every clinical pharmacist will want to own this book. Bob and Dennis have tracked the movement and evolution of pharmacy toward a patient-oriented profession from the early 1900s to today. In addition, they have put the changes in context with what was going on in the country and the world at the time. The completed text will be available by the time of the Annual Meeting in Anaheim. This alone is a good enough reason to be at the Annual Meeting, together with the excellent programming and opportunities to network with colleagues.

The third project consuming a portion of my summer reading is related to the reports coming in from the various standing committees and task forces I appointed last year. ACCP’s approach to committee charges is directly related to accomplishing the objectives of our most recent member-driven strategic plan, which was developed using year-by-year timelines. In addition, ACCP asks all of its members to identify issues important to the College in the areas of practice, research, and education. The Executive Committee of the BOR and the ACCP staff pore over these comments and the strategic plan to determine the issues that should be addressed by a committee or specially appointed task force. Recently, you should have received an e-mail from ACCP asking for volunteers who wish to participate in our governance bodies that are addressing the specifically identified issues for 2009–2010. I hope all of you who are interested have responded to this request. Fortunately, ACCP has many more volunteers than available slots on the committees and task forces, so please don’t be offended if you don’t get picked in any given year; just keep volunteering. Reading the reports of these committees and task forces reminds me of the tremendous talent available to ACCP from its volunteer members. ACCP has long prided itself on extending the frontiers of clinical pharmacy, and I can feel that passion while reading the documents produced.

On the fun side, I am re-reading The River Why by D.J. Duncan—a story about a true trout bum, which is one of my aspirations. In addition, I might have to pick up The Half-Blood Prince in preparation for the forthcoming movie. Now you know a little bit about the other side of the ACCP president. Have a wonderful summer. I hope to see you all in Anaheim this October.