John Rovers, professor of practice in the Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, recently was honored with the second annual Principal Financial Group Global Citizenship Award.
The award recognizes one Drake faculty or staff member who has made “outstanding contributions to global engagement and internationalization of the campus and curriculum.” A selection committee appointed by the Provost reviews all nominations and makes an award recommendation to the Provost.
Rovers received the award and was presented with a plaque during the fourth annual Drake University Learning Symposium on Aug. 19.
“John Rovers has served as a passionate and effective champion of internationalization at Drake and beyond,” said Provost Sue Mattison. “In doing so, he has strengthened partnerships between the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and other units at Drake, and between Drake and institutions abroad.”
Rovers has been a professor in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences since 1991 and has a long track record of furthering internationalization at Drake through teaching, research, consulting and fundraising with a wide variety of partners.
“We live in a globalized world” said Rovers. “America needs healthy trading partners and there are few problems that are not just a plane ride away. I want my students to see the value of understanding a global health environment.”
He was a founding member of the Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship and also the Heartland Global Health Consortium, which holds its annual global health conference Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. in Drake’s Olmsted Center.
His research focuses on global health issues and has resulted in many peer-reviewed publications with student researchers as co-investigators on all projects. He serves as a peer reviewer for Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice and the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (a World Health Organization publication).
Rovers fosters internationalization through his fundraising efforts for McCord Hospital in Durban, South Africa which is a partner for the Drake CPHS South Africa P4 rotation. He has also advanced internationalization through his successful nomination and hosting of Fatima Suleman from the University of KwaZulu-Natal as a global practitioner at Drake in fall 2015. He assisted her with teaching a new course on Drug Policy and Medication Availability, a major concern in the developing world.
In spring 2017, Rovers will continue his internationalization efforts as he spends a sabbatical leave in Belize creating partnerships in global health. His work will create future opportunities for Drake faculty and students to collaborate with Belizeans on identifying, prioritizing and resolving public health problems in Belize.