Skip to main content

MU and UMKC faculty awarded President’s Award for Intercampus Collaboration

Long Title
University of Missouri-Columbia and University of Missouri-Kansas City faculty awarded President’s Award for Intercampus Collaboration

Award recognizes faculty who engage in activities that foster collaboration across two or more campuses of the UM System

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Steve Graham, senior associate vice president for academic affairs at the University of Missouri System, today awarded the President’s Award for Intercampus Collaboration to faculty members from the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 

Graham — in front of faculty gathered for a regular meeting — surprised UMKC Clinical Assistant Professor Erica Ottis, MU Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine Carla Dyer, and MU Instructor of Nursing Gretchen Gregory with the award, which includes a $2,000 award for each recipient. The award recognizes faculty who engage in activities that foster collaboration across two or more campuses of the UM System. Collaboration may be in the areas of teaching, scholarship, research, service, creativity, outreach or economic development. The award marks the tenth of 11 to be presented in 2014.

The UM System President’s Awards are presented annually to faculty members across the four campuses of the University of Missouri System who have made exceptional contributions in advancing the mission of the university. 

President’s Award for Intercampus Collaboration

In real-world hospitals and clinics, patient care does not happen in isolation by one type of health professional, so health care education shouldn’t happen that way either. This line of reasoning is the driving force behind Interprofessional Learning Experiences (IPEs) designed to increase patient safety and communication between healthcare practitioners.

The MU School of Medicine, Sinclair School of Nursing and the UMKC School of Pharmacy collaborate to provide their students with unique and constructive IPEs. Spearheaded by Erica Ottis, PharmD, Carla Dyer, MD, and Gretchen Gregory MS(N), RN, this program engages more than 500 health professional students annually in cross-discipline collaboration training.

Ottis, Dyer and Gregory created the Interprofessional Curriculum in Quality and Safety to help health profession students learn the roles and responsibilities of other members of their health care team to enhance patient safety. Students also participate in the Error Disclosure Simulation and the Effective Pain Management Simulation so that they experience real world scenarios they may be faced with in clinical settings. The team has been recognized nationally and internationally by health care education associations for their efforts in enhancing IPEs.

One nominator wrote, “By taking the time and making the effort to create training opportunities that are inclusive of faculty and students from both UMKC and MU, they have enhanced the educational product and have helped the University of Missouri to emerge as a national leader in this arena.”

Erica Ottis, PharmD

Clinical Assistant Professor

University of Missouri-Kansas City

Dr. Ottis has been with the UMKC School of Pharmacy since 2009. She is a clinical assistant professor for the satellite program in Columbia. Currently, Ottis practices at University Hospital and specializes in Adult Inpatient Medicine. 

Carla Dyer, MD

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

University of Missouri-Columbia

Dr. Dyer has been with MU since 2004. She is a professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Child Health in the University of Missouri School of Medicine. She currently serves as the faculty director of Introduction to Patient Care and clerkship director in the Department of Internal Medicine.

Gretchen Gregory, MS(N), RN

Instructor of Nursing

University of Missouri-Columbia

Gregory has been with the Sinclair School of Nursing since 2005. She has 19 years of clinical nursing experience, most of which is concentrated in the acute health care setting. She is an instructor of clinical nursing, and her specialty is in cardiothoracic nursing.

View photo

Reviewed 2014-06-04