The McWhorter School of Pharmacy will be one of the institutions to receive the prestigious award. The honor is in recognition of the longstanding efforts of our students and faculty to meet the health care needs of underserved residents of Perry County, Alabama. The student team members who submitted the application are Gwen Nance (leader), Ali Lloyd, Allana Alexander, David South, and Ashley Waddell. The faculty advisers are Drs. Dee Dugan, Maisha Kelly Freeman, Pilar Murphy, Whitney White and Maryam Iranikhah.

In her letter of support for the award, Gwen Nance offered the following commentary:

The trips to Perry County and these relationships we have built have also shown me that our patients give us a great gift; they give us their trust. It is this trust that has provided and will continue to provide me with the motivation to achieve academic excellence through sustained education during my career so that I can be the best resource for these patients. This trust is so important and precious that it serves as a reminder that we are the most available health care practitioners for our communities and the patients we serve will look to us for help with all their health care needs.

You’ll hear more about this award in late July. In the meantime, the world is better because of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the McWhorter School of Pharmacy.