The School of Pharmacy has announced a fundraising campaign to establish an endowed faculty position in honor of Henry A. Palmer, Ph.D., clinical professor emeritus and director of continuing education. The position will be used to recruit a nationally renowned scholar and researcher to the Department of Pharmacy Practice, explains Robert L. McCarthy, Ph.D., dean of the School of Pharmacy.
“The School of Pharmacy has been around for 81 years. If you look at those 81 years, two individuals have really dominated the history…It was Dean Hewitt in those first 40 years. In the last 40 years, Henry Palmer has been that dominant person,” says McCarthy.“You just hear his name again and again as someone who has had an effect on students and faculty.”
Palmer began his tenure at the School of Pharmacy in 1958 as a graduate teaching assistant while he completed his master’s degree (’60) and Ph.D. (’65). He won the esteem of both colleagues and students as he rose through the ranks. He was named assistant dean in 1979, clinical professor in 1981 and associate dean in 1985. From 1988 to 1996, Palmer served as director of the School of Pharmacy’s Alumni Association.
The school awarded him the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999 and the first-ever Distinguished Emeritus Faculty Award in 2004. Since retiring from teaching in 2000, Palmer has continued as director of the School of Pharmacy Office of Continuing Education, where the school has named a program after him.
“I never would have imagined that such an honor would be bestowed on me.This honor clearly reflects on the support of my family throughout my teaching career, as well as the many students with whom I’ve had the pleasure of being involved as a teacher, colleague and friend,” says Palmer.
A group of alumni is spearheading the fundraising campaign, which will run through April 2008. The funds raised will determine the level of the position created. The group’s goal is to raise $1.5 million to establish an endowed chair.
“Folks have just readily wanted to participate.They were just more than happy to give.That’s the kind of person that Henry is,” says McCarthy, who reports that verbal commitments so far total more than $300,000. While humbly accepting accolades, Palmer is quick to point out the ultimate benefits of the new faculty position: “More important than personal honor is what this chair means to the School of Pharmacy and how it will impact on pharmacy practice.”
“Candidates for this position will have successfully demonstrated the skills to create and evaluate innovative approaches to patient care. Research demonstrating the value of the community pharmacist in today’s health care system will result in more beneficial and safer patient care. Additionally, practicing pharmacists and students…will benefit from the resources this faculty chair will provide,” says Palmer.
