The current head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology of Masaryk University’s Faculty of Pharmacy, David Vetchý, received the support of a majority of the faculty’s academic senate in today’s dean elections. If Rector Martin Bareš appoints him, Vetchý will replace the current dean, Radka Opatřilová, on 1 April. The rector appointed her interim head of the faculty until a new dean was elected to head this faculty, which in July 2020 became a part of Masaryk University again after a 60-year absence.
In the first round of the elections, Vetchý received the votes of 13 out of 21 senators. “My goal is a top-quality, self-confident, and financially independent faculty, with happy, motivated students, academic staff, and other employees, fully integrated into life at Masaryk University, both in terms of the physical location of the faculty’s facilities and in terms of open cooperation on teaching, research, and other projects,” declared Vetchý in his campaign promise.
He seeks to grow the faculty, for example, by introducing a new study programme with the working title “Cosmetics”. Such programmes already exist at universities abroad. It will offer great opportunities for cooperation across MU’s faculties. His priorities also include improving the faculty’s research potential and developing cooperation with the private and public sectors.
Vetchý is a graduate of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of MU and of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno (VFU). Last year, the faculty moved from VFU to MU based on an agreement made between the rectors of both schools. He is currently serving as head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology of MU, which focuses on compounding, formulating, producing, and evaluating mass-produced drugs and individually prepared medications and assuring their quality.
In the elections, Vetchý ran against the current dean and head of the Department of Chemical Drugs, Radka Opatřilová, and the vice-dean for research and doctoral studies, Petra Bořilová Linhartová, neither of whom managed to win the simple majority of votes needed to be elected.
In 2020, MU regained the Faculty of Pharmacy on the basis of an agreement with VFU, whose leadership approved the faculty’s moving to MU, along with its 800 students currently enrolled in Czech and English master’s degree programmes, five Czech doctoral programmes, and three English doctoral programmes. Classes are still being taught at three pavilions on the VFU campus on Palackého třída in Brno, which Masaryk University has rented for a period of five years. In the future, the MU Faculty of Pharmacy will be relocated to the University Campus in Bohunice.