Were it not for the vision and tenacity of Robert (Bob) Anthony, there might never have been the organization so many of us have come to love so much, the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS). Bob, now retired, was a longtime A&P professor at Triton College outside Chicago. Back in 1987, the organization that came to be known as HAPS was created when Bob and some colleagues from in and around the Chicago area hosted the first Anatomy and Physiology Workshop at Triton College. Following a second meeting at Triton in 1988, HAPS was officially “born” and since then has grown into a vibrant professional society of A&P educators from throughout North America and well beyond, boasting a membership that approaches 2000. Bob, in his typical quiet, out-of-the-spotlight fashion, served as a major driving force for the formation of HAPS and as an engaged advisor during those early years but did not assume the presidency until 1995 following the annual conference in Beaumont Texas.

Those of us “old-timers” who know Bob from his years in HAPS before retirement think of him first and foremost as just a genuinely nice guy. None of us have ever heard him say a bad word about anyone. He always looked for and found the best in everyone. He had a wealth of ideas and strategies to share and he shared them willingly, but he was always more interested in what you thought than what he was thinking. He was a force, albeit a quiet force, for quality teaching and professionalism. His willingness to put forth the effort to host and organize those first two meetings at Triton College and his savvy to tune into the enthusiasm that they generated were the reasons that we have HAPS today. He is, of course, way too modest to ever agree or acknowledge that.

Bob Anthony is truly a HAPS elder statesman. He is the epitome of a dedicated educator in that he wants every student to get the best possible education and fulfill his or her potential. He cares deeply about education, his students, and his colleagues. His rich history in HAPS is testimony to that.

The Bob Anthony scholarships that helps get the next generation of new A&P educators connected to the wonderful HAPS network and off to a solid start so they can better serve their students for many years to come is the perfect way to honor Bob. And receiving the award makes you a part of Bob’s wonderful legacy. And as you can see from the photo below, Bob continues to do good for others.

The photo is from 2009 of Bob in Nicaragua as part of a Nicaragua-Direct team of workers. Fittingly the organization’s mottos are:

“Together, we do make a difference in peoples lives.”
and
“Service Beyond Self – Always.”

Until his sudden passing in 2010, Sam Drogo spent his entire 36 year career teaching human anatomy and physiology at Mohawk Valley Community College in upstate New York. He was then and remains to this day honored and respected by the many students and colleagues whose lives he touched during this time. He discovered the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society in 1991 at the Greenville, South Carolina conference and remained energized by and committed to the goals of HAPS since that time. In his involvement in HAPS as in his career at MVCC, he quietly led by example.  In his uniquely humble way, Sam created a life filled with initiative, accomplishment, and dedication to his family, students, colleagues and friends. In the process, he made us better people and better educators.

Sam had the mind of a scientist and the instincts of a teacher and mentor. As a scientist, he was curious, logical, dogged, and insightful. As a teacher and mentor, he was compassionate, engaging, enthusiastic and organized. He inspired students to rise to the intellectual challenges he provided and he quietly motivated his colleagues to be innovative. Later in his career, he was recognized by the State University of New York with a Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Over his many years at MVCC, Sam quietly established himself as an important element in hundreds of wonderful success stories of students who overcame adversity and forged significant careers in place of lives not yet fulfilled. He shared his expertise and passion with colleagues across the nation and was recognized as a force for innovative and involved education. As one former student said after his death, “Remember, there are a lot of RN’s who can pay it forward because of Mr. Drogo.”

Sam’s involvement with ADInstruments goes all the way back to ADI’s origin as MacLab. He liked the product from the start and stuck with it through each and every new iteration. He loved how adaptive and modifiable the system was because it allowed for the creation of different new lab activities. Leading students in the performance of science in lab…those were the times Sam was at his best. He understood the ADI system well and, more than anyone, could manipulate and adjust it “on the fly” effortlessly in order to achieve success in lab. His feedback and interaction with ADI’s technical staff helped make the system better and more user friendly. It is because of the fact that Sam so ably modeled the skillful use of ADI technology as a teaching and learning tool that ADI established the Sam Drogo Technology in the Classroom Award following his death. Those in HAPS who knew Sam well recognize what an honor it is to be selected for one of these scholarships.  Apply now – all HAPS scholarships are due December 1 this year.

 

In Fall 2014 the phone rang and it was Mike Roseman from Thieme, a publisher of textbooks.  Mike is the Director of Sales for North America.  Thieme had always had good experiences with HAPS and is a regular exhibitor at Annual Conferences and now he wanted to find ways to work with and support HAPS even more.  He asked what we thought would be a great way to do that, and so in addition to the 30% discount Thieme offers to all HAPS members and their students (just use code “HAPS30” at checkout), Thieme is helping HAPS celebrate great teaching.  It was as simple as that – Thieme wanted to help and a few months later, Terry Thompson was the first recipient of the HAPS-Thieme Award for Excellence in Teaching.  

This award is important for HAPS because great teaching is the heart of HAPS.  The recipient of this award will be nominated by a peer, be vetted by a committee of dedicated HAPS members, and be celebrated at the Annual Conference.  This is the largest single award that HAPS offers, and it includes both a $1500 cash award and also complimentary registration for the 2016 Annual Conference in Atlanta.  

The recipient must attend the Annual Conference to receive his or her award.  But he or she also has to come because we’re not crazy– we’re not going to give an award for great teaching and then not get to experience some of that great teaching!  So the recipient also gives the HAPS-Thieme Excellence in Teaching workshop, which gives us all an opportunity see the teacher in action.

Do you know someone who is a great A&P teacher?  Why not take a moment to nominate that person?  All you will need to do is write a few short paragraphs and get the person you are nominating to acknowledge that he or she is willing and able to come to the Annual Conference.   Like all HAPS awards, we have worked to make the application/nomination process as streamlined as possible.  

Nominations are due December 1.

After last week’s post by HAPS Executive Director, Peter English, most of us are ready to make travel arrangements to Atlanta!  So it seems like a good time to talk about how HAPS can help you get there. Because if you’re looking for financial assistance in getting to Georgia in May, HAPS has your back.  Here are four awards available to help you make it happen.

NOTE:  ALL of these applications are DUE by Tuesday December 1, so get your things together and apply now!

The Sam Drogo Technology in the Classroom Award
This award is given to someone who demonstrates innovative use of technology to engage undergraduates in human anatomy and physiology. Two awards are available, both sponsored by ADInstruments.
Award: Up to $500 to attend the HAPS annual conference.

Robert Anthony Scholarship
This award is given to new instructors in A&P with the goal of helping new faculty network with seasoned professionals during their first five (5) years of teaching anatomy and physiology by attending the HAPS annual conference.
Award: Pays for registration fee at the HAPS annual conference.

Contingent Faculty Scholarship
This award is set up to encourage Contingent Faculty to network with seasoned professionals by attending the HAPS annual conference.
Award: Covers registration fee at the HAPS annual conference.

HAPS Graduate Student/Postdoctoral Travel Award
This award is given to graduate students or postdoctoral students who attend and present at the HAPS annual conference.
Award: $400 cash and annual conference registration fee is waived.

**ALL AWARD APPLICATIONS ARE DUE TUESDAY DECEMBER 1, 2015**

See you in Georgia!

HAPS is at a really exciting crossroads when it comes to Annual Conferences.  Each year we are growing, and we want to be sure to continue to be as inclusive as possible as we increase our capacity.  So for the next couple of years we are trying a few new things.

ATLANTA 2016
For several years we have conducted surveys about the pros and cons of having the HAPS Annual Conference over the Memorial Day holiday.  Surveys are always a 50-50 split of members who can and cannot attend a conference over that weekend.  The rationale for choosing that weekend has been that because folks would be off work on Monday anyway, it allows people to attend the conference using fewer vacation days.  Or alternatively to miss fewer days of teaching.  Apparently that doesn’t work for everyone.

For the Atlanta conference, we decided to see if we could include that 50% of respondents who cannot come over the Memorial Day weekend, and so we moved the Annual one week earlier.  In many ways this is as controlled an experiment as we can perform – Jacksonville 2014 was over the Memorial Day weekend and Atlanta is about as close a venue to Jacksonville as we’ll be seeing for a while.  We hope to see even more participation because of this move.

Aside from the choice of weekend, the format of the Atlanta conference is straight up HAPS: Welcome reception at the conference hotel Saturday night, update speakers and exhibitors at the hotel Sunday and Monday, and workshops at a host university Tuesday and Wednesday, and an optional outing on Thursday.

SALT LAKE CITY 2017
Salt Lake City is an amazing place and a bit of a contrast to the urban setting of Atlanta (and is also a Delta Airlines hub!).  The hotel properties vary widely, and the one with the most appropriate meeting space for exhibitors and update speakers is at a price point that we did not feel was conducive to a large turnout.  So in 2016 we will not be hosting the updates speakers and exhibitors at the hotel – we will be using the Salt Palace Convention Center!  By doing this we can reserve rooms for HAPSters in multiple hotels at multiple price points and continue to do all we can do to accommodate a variety of tastes.

Using the Convention Center has necessitated some other changes – the welcome reception will be on the Wednesday before Memorial Day, the update speakers and exhibitors will be on Thursday and Friday, and the workshops will be at the university on Saturday and Sunday.  We will end in the early afternoon on Sunday, so anyone who wishes can catch a flight home Sunday night.  That means two Memorial Day Mondays in a row at home!

For exhibitors this means two entire holiday weekends at home with their families and friends.  We always appreciate the dedication and helpfulness of our wonderful exhibitors, and hope that these changes work well for them too.

2018 and beyond is still in process, but stay tuned for more updates and know that we are working diligently to make the HAPS Annuals as productive and fun as can be!