Posted by William Nunnelley on 2005-03-31

Dean Joseph O. Dean of Samford's McWhorter School of Pharmacy received the first Outstanding Dean Award presented by the American Pharmacist Association Academy of Student Pharmacists at the organization's annual awards ceremony April 4 in Orlando.

The new award will go annually to a pharmacy dean who has made significant contributions to an APhA-ASP chapter and has promoted with distinction the welfare of student pharmacists.

Dean "has dedicated significant personal time as well as financial support to ensure the growth of future pharmacists," noted Jennifer Athay of Washington, D.C. senior manager of student development for the American Pharmacists Association. "He has exemplified high professional standards and leadership skills and through these skills has developed a path for students to follow."

Dean has served as dean of pharmacy since 1991 and led the school through implementation of the entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy degree. He holds the Fred E. McWhorter Decanal Chair of Pharmacy.

A Birmingham native, he graduated from the pharmacy school in 1962 and practiced in both independent and chain pharmacies for 14 years before joining the pharmacy school faculty and administration in 1975. He later served as vice president for university relations at Samford and vice president for development at Charleston Southern University before returning to Samford in 1989 as executive director of the Samford University Foundation.

As dean, he has traveled extensively in Europe and Asia speaking to health professionals on developing models of clinical practice and technological innovations in the health professions.

He holds a master's degree from the University of Montevallo and Ph.D. from the University of Alabama.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.