Posted by William Nunnelley on 2005-09-29

Samford University pharmacy Dean Joseph O. Dean was honored Sept. 28 in Nagoya, Japan, for his ongoing contributions to the field of pharmacy education in the U.S. and Japan. Dr. Dean received an honorary doctor of pharmacy degree from Meijo University in Nagoya, where he has led efforts to assist the Japanese school in developing clinical pharmacy education programs for more than a decade.

Under Dean's leadership, Samford's McWhorter School of Pharmacy has been engaged in a variety of interactions and exchanges with the Meijo University School of Pharmacy since 1992. Meijo is a private university enrolling some 12,000 students.

Over the years, Samford has hosted Meijo faculty and graduate students involved in clinical pharmacy programs and has sent pharmacy faculty to Meijo to help develop faculty and clinical practice models. Dean has served as advisor to the deans and heads of Meijo's clinical pharmacy program, visiting and speaking in Nagoya on several occasions. He spoke at a Meijo dean's forum at the school's 50th anniversary celebration in 2004.

Earlier this year, Samford assisted Meijo in developing a successful proposal for a top 100 universities grant from the Japanese government. As part of the proposal, Samford gave permission for a translation into Japanese of a monograph on problem-based learning edited by Samford pharmacy professor Mary Monk-Tutor.

Dean, a 1962 Samford pharmacy graduate and former practicing pharmacist, has served as dean of pharmacy since 1991, leading the school through implementation of the entry-level doctor of pharmacy program. He has announced plans to retire at the close of the 2005-06 academic year, and a dean search committee has been formed to help select his successor.

 

 
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.