June 15, 2018
Dear Alumni and Friends of the USC School of Pharmacy,
The School’s 111th Commencement ceremony last month, the School’s largest in its history, marked the conclusion of my second academic year as dean of the USC School of Pharmacy.
A total of 283 degrees were conferred in 15 degree programs – among them the School’s first bachelor of science in pharmacology and drug development – preparing our graduates to move on to careers as future pharmacists, pharmacologists, regulatory scientists, health economists and careers as yet even created.
As we celebrate the achievements of our class of 2018, we also have much to look forward to the coming academic year. Our new PharmD curriculum enters its third year with seven areas of concentration, which allow students to tailor their educational experience. Our new undergraduate program is attracting extraordinary interest. Our masters programs attract scholars from all over the world and our doctoral students advance the frontiers of knowledge across the spectrum of pharmacy, from chemistry to health outcomes.
We are welcoming new faculty members, including Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy Scott Mosley, whose expertise is in pharmacogenomics implementation, Assistant Professor Maryann Wu, whose focus is on curriculum, instruction and academic assessment, and Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences Zhipeng Lu, whose focus is developing new experimental and computational methods for the global analysis of RNA structure and interactions in living cells.
Our faculty have been recognized by numerous state, national and international organizations, as well as by the University community. Esteemed professor Enrique Cadenas recently received three major international honors: A promotion to the rank of Officer in France’s National Order of Merit, the Sir Trevor Slater Award and Medal from the International Society for Free Radical Research, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Finally, we’ve moved forward with plans for the renovation of Seaver Hall — the building adjacent to the USC School of Pharmacy’s home in the John Stauffer Pharmaceutical Sciences Center — to create an inviting and vibrant home for the Margaret and John Biles Leadership Center, and to provide student services facilities that will be used for a multitude of student programs and events.
As we continue to focus on our mission of advancing health through excellence in education, research and practice, I want to thank you for your commitment to USC and to the USC School of Pharmacy.
Sincerely,
Vassilios Papadopoulos, D.Pharm., Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon)
Dean
John Stauffer Dean’s Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Professor of Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical Sciences