When Edward “Ted” Roche, Ph.D., interviewed for a faculty position in the College of Pharmacy in 1966, he thought it would be a nice place to be for the next three to five years.
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Ted Roche, Ph.D., is retiring from his administrative role in the College of Pharmacy, after 23 years. |
“I didn’t mean to combine the 3 and 5 in this manner,” joked Dr. Roche, who will mark his 37th anniversary as a faculty member this fall. “Obviously, it’s been a fun time.”
This academic year will be the last for Dr. Roche in administration. After 23 years as an academic administrator, Dr. Roche will return full time to the pharmaceutical sciences faculty.
“The prospect of returning to the faculty ranks is exciting,” Dr. Roche said. “I made a promise 23 years ago that when I turned 65, I would leave academic administration. So, I’m leaving to fulfill my promise, and I look forward to returning to the faculty.”
Clarence Ueda, Pharm.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy, said Dr. Roche has been effective as an academic administrator because of his passion for people.
“His approach to difficult situations is always one of, ‘How can we solve or address your problem?’,” Dr Ueda said. “Dr. Roche is a real people person and a good listener.
“I’ve enjoyed working with Dr. Roche all these years, and can honestly say that it has been fun all but only a few times that I can remember. It’s comforting to know that he won’t be that far away should I ever need him. I’ve counted on him and his wisdom for so many years, it’s going to take some time to make the adjustment.”
Dr. Roche didn’t have any intentions of becoming an administrator when he came to the University of Nebraska. In fact, while being raised near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dr. Roche dreamed of driving racecars. Those dreams were dashed when he came down with polio at age 14.
“If it weren’t for the polio, I probably wouldn’t be here today,” Dr. Roche said. “All of a sudden, I thought, as a teenager ‘Gosh, I’ve got to have a profession.'”
A family pharmacist suggested that Dr. Roche attend pharmacy school, and he went on to receive his bachelor of science in pharmacy degree from Butler University in 1961. Two years later, he earned his master’s degree in medicinal chemistry from Butler, and in 1966, was awarded his Ph.D. degree in that area from Ohio State University.
It was at Ohio State that Dr. Roche experienced the lectures of Harold Schecter, Ph.D., who taught advanced organic chemistry. Dr. Schecter, Dr. Roche said, was a very dramatic lecturer.
“It was a situation where I’d write down the introductory stuff for a particular topic, then just put my pen down and listen to this man,” Dr. Roche said. When Dr. Roche became a little more dramatic in his speaking, he found that he could rid himself of a problem that he had had since childhood – stuttering.
“You know, when Mel Tillis is singing or acting, he doesn’t stutter,” Dr. Roche said. “I found the same was true with me. When I would put in a little dramatic flair, I wasn’t stuttering as much, and the students liked my lectures a lot better.
“I know that when I told my fraternity brothers that I was going into academia, a couple of them said, ‘Roche is going to teach? Hell, Roche can’t talk.'”
Upon earning his doctoral degree, Dr. Roche pursued a faculty position at the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy when the school was in Lincoln, and he liked what he saw. He was one of two faculty hired that year in the department of pharmacy and pharmaceutical chemistry, increasing the college’s faculty number by 50 percent.
His early research interests involved central nervous system drugs, including some of the early opiate receptor modeling.
In 1980, he was appointed assistant dean for academic affairs in the college, and in 1985, he was promoted to associate dean.
During the past 22 1/2 years, the basic duties and responsibilities of Dr. Roche’s position have essentially remained the same. He oversees admissions, student performance, curriculum development and other academic matters.
“If it has anything to do with the professional program, it comes across my desk,” Dr. Roche said.
The program has changed significantly over the years, he said.
The college once had four departments, but it has increased efficiency by reducing to two, he said. Once housed in Lincoln, the college completed its move to Omaha in 1976. That same year, the college was the third college of pharmacy nationally to offer the entry level Pharm.D. degree as its sole pharmacy degree program. The college recently completed a major educational reform of its curriculum and teaching methods, and it is still in the process of increasing the focus of instruction on active learning, or engaging students in small groups and other learning environments.
That educational overhaul, Dr. Roche said, stands as his most gratifying accomplishment.
“Anything you do here takes interaction with others, and involves their willingness to do things and make changes,” Dr. Roche said. “We started the educational reform process about five to six years ago. Through sharing that vision through seminars and workshops, we brought the faculty on board. By having monthly workshops, they eventually accepted that we didn’t just need to change the curriculum, but really should reform the way we educated our students.
“So we’ve all worked very hard on content, presentation, pedagogy and those types of things. It’s been very gratifying.”
Dr. Roche credits the college’s current health to collaboration among faculty in the college’s two departments – pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences.
“We’ve been able to keep strong programs because no matter which department you are in, you understand the importance of the other, and we have fostered that attitude,” Dr. Roche said.
Faculty members, Dr. Roche said, aren’t afraid to bounce ideas off of him and to come to him with suggestions. He thinks the open lines of communication have helped him to gain the trust of his colleagues. He notes that they always elect him to chair the college’s curriculum committee, even though that’s not required in the college’s bylaws. He also is chairman of the admissions and academic performance and standards committees.
“Faculty come and talk to me about student problems,” Dr. Roche said. “I think if you’re up front, honest, and a good listener, you’ll have the kinds of interactions that are going to be beneficial to the program.”
Dr. Roche is looking forward to returning to his faculty role on a full-time basis. “I will finally have the time to devote to instituting some of the educational reforms that I have tried to encourage others to do. What better way to fulfill my time in the college than to encourage students to become excited about learning.”