For clinical faculty, balancing the demands of teaching, scholarship and service with an active practice role can feel like a two-step of its own. With one foot in academia and the other in patient care, faculty members in these dual roles face unique challenges and opportunities for professional growth.
The Texas Two-Step: Practicing With Purpose Seminar, hosted by The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, was created with this challenge in mind. Now in its second offering, the program brings together clinical faculty to build skills, share strategies and connect with colleagues who understand the unique rhythm of navigating both academic and practice settings.
Held June 25-26, the 2026 seminar featured programming centered on four pillars of faculty success: teaching, scholarship, service and professional development. The two-day program offered both in-person and live online participation, allowing faculty from a variety of locations and practice settings to take part.
Approximately 35 practicing faculty members from Texas schools and colleges of pharmacy were able to join the event, either in person in Austin or remotely via Zoom. Attendees walked away with practical takeaways, including ways to engage learners in scholarship, strategies to 'triple-dip' in areas like service commitments, approaches for setting goals that balance day-to-day duties with career advancement and even ideas for using music to help students learn pharmacotherapy content. Beyond the formal sessions, networking opportunities sparked authentic dialogue about the balancing act inherent to these roles.
This year's program also offered participants an opportunity to take their professional development beyond traditional continuing education through an optional Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Intensive. The pathway was designed to help faculty move from simply gaining knowledge to intentionally applying what they learn to personal and professional goals relate to teaching, scholarship and service. Participants develop actionable plans for achieving those goals, then continue the process beyond the seminar through reflection, implementation and follow-up assessments over the course of nine months.
"Rather than limiting continuing education to knowledge acquisition alone, CPD emphasizes intentional growth, application and measurable change over time," said Glen Baumgart, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Continuing Professional Development. "Two-Step participants help demonstrate how CPD can transform continuing education into a meaningful process of lifelong professional growth and continuous improvement."
The CPD component builds on the College of Pharmacy's experience as an accredited CPD provider following the launch of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education's CPD framework in 2024. By integrating CPD into faculty development, the Texas Two-Step program offers participants a structured approach to goal setting, putting new knowledge into practice and evaluating their progress over time.
"I think this seminar really fills a needed gap in existing conferences that either focus largely on the clinical or education side. There's space in the middle that is unique to practicing faculty who balance competing demands," said Morgan Stewart, Pharm.D., Clinical Associate Professor at UT Austin College of Pharmacy who chaired this year's planning efforts.
The program's focus on connection and community also extended beyond the classroom. Following the first day of programming, in-person participants gathered at Austin's iconic Broken Spoke dance hall for an evening of networking, conversation and, fittingly, two-stepping.
As the Texas Two-Step Seminar continues to grow, its organizers are already 'roping in' more faculty for 2027, with plans to expand the program's reach and connect with a broader community of clinical faculty across the country. That momentum was already on display at a recent informal meetup during the AACP Pharmacy Education Conference in Grapevine, Texas. Looking forward, the college plans for an even larger seminar for June 24-25, 2027, in Austin, Texas.
