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USU Hosts First Faculty Appreciation Day

Dr. Kellermann aims the hose over the car in Dr. Romano's direction

By Sharon Holland

Dr. Bill Kelly, dressed in a pale yellow suit, holds questions cards and is announcing something to the crowd and Team Family Medicine settles in to their table in the background
Army Col. (Dr.) Bill Kelly, a faculty member in USU's Department
of Medicine, acts as game show host for "Faculty Feud." 
(Image credit: Sharon Holland)
Dressed in his best blazer and bow tie, microphone clipped to his lapel, and question cards in hand, Dr. Bill Kelly could have passed for the next Richard Dawson or Steve Harvey.  But the Army pulmonologist and USU Department of Medicine (MED) faculty member didn’t come from the Bob Barker School of Game Show Hosts; instead, his quick wit and engaging personality landed him the job as USU’s first “Faculty Feud” emcee. 

Á la television’s popular game show, “Family Feud,” Kelly pitted matching t-shirts Team Family Medicine against baby-doll toting Team Pediatrics for an entertaining question and answer competition as part of the USU Faculty Appreciation Day events.   

“We have a lot of adult learners here at the university.  Name something your parents still give you,” Kelly asked the two teams’ reps at the podium.  Team Pediatrics answered correctly first, earning the opportunity to continue the questioning and score points. 

Team Pediatrics (four people, two men, two women) poses for a photo. Two people (one man, one woman) hold a baby doll dressed in pink onesies.
Team Pediatrics - Dr. Greg Gorman, Dr. Courtney Judd, Dr. Jennifer Hepps, and Dr. Alex Galifianakis - prepare to play "Faculty Feud".  (Image credit: Sarah Marshall)
“A hard time,” said Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Alex Galifiniakis, School of Medicine commandant who was participating on the pediatrics team. 

“Grief is correct,” Kelly replied while the crowd burst into applause.

A shot from behind the audience of the Faculty Feud setup where Team Family Medicine is on the left and Team Pediatrics is on the right and the announcer is in the middle
USU Faculty, staff and students gather to watch "Faculty Feud," one of the events for the university's first Faculty Appreciation Day.  (Image credit: Sharon Holland)
Across the courtyard, staff, faculty and students stood in line for grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and brats provided by the cafeteria courtesy of USU’s Civilian Welfare and Recreation Fund in support of the morale-building day conceived by University President Richard Thomas.

“We work with some tremendous, talented faculty; men and women who share the burden of contributing to our national security. We ask a lot of them. Today’s events were just one small way to acknowledge their contributions and say ‘thank you,’” Thomas said.

At noon, as the DJ started playing the theme from the movie “Ghostbusters,” School of Medicine dean Dr. Arthur Kellermann, along with department chairs Dr. Louis Pangaro, Dr. Francis O’Connor, and former department chair Dr. Robert Ursano, all clad in white jumpsuits, made a grand entrance onto the university plaza with buckets and sponges in hand for a car wash debt repayment to USU Graduate School of Nursing dean Dr. Carol Romano.

Three Department Chairs from the School of Medicine in white jumpsuits holding buckets and sponges.
Armed with buckets and sponges, Dr. Louis Pangaro, Dr. Robert Ursano and Dr. Francis O'Connor stand ready to wash Graduate School of Nursing dean Dr. Carol Romano's car for Faculty Appreciation Day.  (Image credit: Sharon Holland)
Kellermann told the crowd that the event was inspired by the University’s manpower survey conducted early in 2016.  Then-President Dr. Charles Rice announced during a Town Hall meeting that the responses were not good from both the School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Nursing.  Kellermann said he stood up and announced that he was confident, at the end of the day, the SOM would have the higher response rate, and if not, he and the department chairs with the lowest response rates would wash Romano’s car.  Romano agreed to the same if the GSN rates were lower. 

“My chief of staff, Dr. Kevin Jackson, told me we had a 98% response rate, and I said, ‘we’re actually going to win.’ Twelve hours later, the GSN had a 100% response rate,” said Kellermann.  “But at the end of the day, we all win because we did the survey right.”

The dean and three department chairs washing Dr. Romano's car
School of Medicine dean Dr. Art Kellermann mans the hose as his trusty car wash compadres soap up Dr. Carol Romano's car in fulfillment of a SOM-GSN manpower survey challenge debt.  (Image credit: Sharon Holland)
Armed with a hose and soapy water, the foursome washed Romano’s car while the DJ’s speakers belted out the song “Car Wash” by Rose Royce in the background.  Romano also got into the spirit, telling her medical school colleagues not to forget to wash the tires, which prompted Kellermann to good-naturedly spray her with the hose.

Dr. Kellermann is behind the car and is aiming a hose in Dr. Romano's direction as she is pointing at something on the car.
SOM dean Dr. Art Kellermann "accidentally" sprays GSN dean Dr. Carol Romano after hearing that he "missed a spot."  The car wash was part of USU's Faculty Appreciation Day. (Image credit: Sarah Marshall)
Meanwhile, back in the amphitheater, Kelly broke game show host character for a minute. 
"Before we announce our winning team, let's remember the REAL winners –  whether it’s School of Medicine, biomedical sciences and public health, Graduate School of Nursing, Postgraduate Dental College, Health Professions Education…. the real winners are our students and their future patients because of you faculty," he said. 

“And now, the winners of Faculty Feud are…..Team Family Medicine.”

Team Family Medicine raises their arms in victory while seated at the team table.
Faculty Feud emcee, Dr. Bill Kelly (right) congratulates Team Family Medicine - Dr. Chris Jonas, Dr. Felicia Chang, Dr. Francesca Cimino and Dr. Dana Nguyen, on their victory.  (Image credit: Sarah Marshall)