Clinical laboratory scientist Ellen Tuttle, MT (ASCP), senior technologist at University of Arizona Medical Center’s microbiology laboratory, performs antibiotic testing of bacteria with Dulini Gamage, MLT (ASCP).

Dr. Marc Tischler’s undergraduate degree program in biochemistry at the University of Arizona (UA) was on the chopping block.  With not enough students enrolled in the major, the faculty senate was set to cut the program at their next meeting.  Meanwhile, two hours northwest in Tempe, Arizona State University had just cut its clinical lab science (CLS) training program.  There was nowhere in the state to train to be a CLS.  Then Donna Wolk, PhD, D(ABMM), a pathologist at UA, called the CLS distance learning program at UND.  

“We sat in our program director’s office for an afternoon and just went through all the different options of how we could make this work,” said Brooke Solberg, MS, MT (ASCP), an instructor with the UND CLS program and its certificate program director.  “By about 5:30 that day we had come up with something that would work.” 

Within a week of the initial phone call, the two schools had an agreement put together to save the biochemistry degree program at UA and to allow the students majoring in the program to train in CLS.  

“We chose UND as an educational partner for a number of reasons,” said Wolk, division chief for clinical and molecular microbiology at Arizona Health Sciences Center and assistant professor, clinical pathology and medicine at UA.  “First and foremost, from my perspective, the UND faculty truly portrays all that is right and good about health care.  They are team-oriented, inclusive, open-minded, flexible, and most importantly, dedicated to delivering the best in content and ease of use for their students.”