Winners abound at COP!
We're bursting our buttons over the recognition the Alumni Association of The University of Arizona will bestow during Homecoming 2006 on nine people closely associated with the College of Pharmacy.Seven Pharmacy graduates, one non-alumnus faculty member and a member of the PharmD Class of 2007 will find themselves laden with accolades at the awards portion of the College of Pharmacy Homecoming dinner Friday, Nov. 10.
The Alumni Association regularly recognizes the achievements of UA alumni, friends and students with awards in a variety of categories. Those COPers in the awards spotlight this Homecoming are:
- Robert Pittman, Professional Achievement Award
- Bill Jones, Professional Achievement Award
- Hal Wand, Bear Down Award
- Tom Reed, Distinguished Citizen Award
- Dana Reed-Kane, Distinguished Citizen Award
- Paul Myrdal, Extraordinary Faculty Award
- Rick Herrier, Extraordinary Faculty Award
- Jenene Spencer, Outstanding Young Alumni Volunteer Award
- Ali McBride, Student Volunteer Award
Why they were chosen
To be honored with the Professional Achievement Award, given to persons who have attained prominence in their fields, are Robert Pittman and Bill Jones.
Pittman, who earned a bachelor of pharmacy in 1984 and also holds a master of public health degree, is a rear admiral in the Public Health Service, which he joined in 1984. "Pittman has served as a leader for the pharmacy profession in the PHA," one of his nominators writes. "His career in the Indian Health Service and in the Health Resources and Services Administation has been dedicated to addressing health disparities among Native Americans, the poor, the uninsured, and the disenfranchised."
Jones, who completed a bachelor of the pharmacy in 1972 and a master's degree in hospital and clinical pharmacy 1979, worked as a pharmacist for the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System for 28 years, holding a variety of titles there. He was director of the pharmacy practice residency from 1982 until this past July, and has been a clinical preceptor for pharmacy students since 1979. In July 2006, he became the VA national program manager for education and perfomance improvement. Jones' "commitment to the veteran population goes above and beyond the norm," a nominator writes. This commitment has been recognized by several awards, including the Distinguished Federal Pharmacist Award given by the American Pharmacist Association
The Bear Down Award honors individuals who have performed noteworthy service on behalf of UA . 2006 recipient Hal Wand earned his bachelor of pharmacy degree in 1979. He has held several positions on the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy since 1990, serving currently as its executive director. He is an avid Wildcat sports fan, and has given back to his college and university by serving as a member of the Alumni Association's National Board of Directors, AdvoCATS and the COP National Advisory Board. He is a volunteer preceptor to PharmD students and presents continuing education sessions on pharmacy law to faculty and alumni.
Father and daughter Tom Reed and Dana Reed-Kane will receive the association' s Distinguished Citizen Award, which is given in recognition of volunteer service. Tom Reed, a Class of 1969 graduate, became owner of Jones United Drug Co. in 1979 and in 1998 opened Reed's Compounding Pharmacy, with his daughter, a graduate of the Class of 1996. Each of the Reeds has given generously in support of UA, serving as volunteer clinical faculty and mentoring hundreds of students who learn compounding at their store. The elder Reed is praised by nominators for being an exceptional pharmacist and role model, as well as a volunteer advisor to the National Community Pharmacists Association chapter. His daughter is described as "an outstanding teacher" who demonstrates "the true impact a pharmacist can have on patient care and a community."
The Extraordinary Faculty Award, which recognizes faculty who bring honor to the university, will be presented to both Paul Myrdal and Richard Herrier.
Myrdal, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, is also a UA graduate, completing a bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology here in 1989 and a PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry in 1994. His teaching duties include teaching first-year PharmD students and 10 graduate students in pharmaceutical sciences. "Dr. Myrdal's accessibility to his students is second to none," a nominator writes. He also is praised for "teaching students to think" and for his distinguished research. He has twice been chosen as Educator of the Year by graduating PharmD students.
Herrier, who is a clinical associate professor in Pharmacy Practice and Science, is the 2006 recipient of the Elias Schlossberg Award, presented by the Arizona Pharmacy Alliance. Described by one nominator for the Extraordinary Faculty Award as a model of "the pharmacist that I aspire to be," Herrier is praised for developing educational programs to enhance students' skills in patient counseling, pharmaceutical care, disease management, physical assessment and compliance enhancement. He is also the recipient of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Innovation in Teaching Award.
To receive the award recognizing UA alumni who graduated fewer than 10 years ago and have demonstrated loyalty to the university for at least two years is Jenene Spencer, PharmD Class of 1998. Spencer helped develop and now is preceptor of the postgraduate pharmacy residency program at Fry's Food and Drug Stores and also has for eight years been a volunteer clinical faculty member mentoring students in their fourth-year of the PharmD program. She is praised by her nominators for working with students year-round, serving on the COP admissions committee, lecturing and facilitating discussion groups and being "the heart and soul" of the college's student community outreach program. The state pharmacy organization has recognized her with its Distinguished Young Pharmacist (2000) and Innovative Practice (2003) awards.
Fourth-year PharmD student Ali McBride will be honored for his valuable service to The University of Arizona with the Student Volunteer Award. "A true student leader," McBride has been president of the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists and COP Student Council and is an active volunteer with many other student groups. His work to develop a pharmacy residency showcase "surpassed everyone's expectations" and his leadership has supported the growth of student organizations throughout the college, nominators attest. One applauds McBride as "a great representative of The University of Arizona" who "goes out of his way to ensure others are recognized before him."
For information on the awards or presentation, contact Liz Mellor, Alumni Affairs, at (520) 626-8236.
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The honors keep coming
The College of Pharmacy also has tapped Robert E. Pittman for special recognition this year.In addition to receiving the Professional Achievement Award from the UA Alumni Association, Pittman, a rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service, has been selected for the College of Pharmacy Jack R. Cole, PhD, Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Pittman will receive the Cole Distinguished Alumnus Award during the awards ceremony at the COP Homecoming dinner Nov. 10.
In his position as principal pharmacy consultant for the Indian Health Service, Pittman leads 600 IHS, tribal and urban pharmacists at 237 pharmacies. As chief pharmacist officer for the Public Health Center, he leads pharmacist professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General. He has received numerous commendations and honors from the Public Health Service, including the Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal.
Nominators from the Public Health Service praise Pittman for his leadership within PHS and professional organizations, for his involvement in disaster preparedness and response, and his "dedication to the pharmacy profession, exceptional administrative abilities and strong leadership skills."
"Rear Admiral Pittman certainly is a very distinguished alumnus of our college," Dean J. Lyle Bootman says. "It is a pleasure to thank him for the esteem he lends to our program through his many professional accomplishments."
The Cole Distinguished Alumnus Award is named for former COP dean and current professor Jack R. Cole, himself a 1992 recipient of the award. Others to receive the award are Stanley Goldenberg, 1992; Mark Pulido, 1998; and Metta Lou Henderson, 2002.
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