April 12, 2021
The 2021 Annual Awards and 50+ Pinning Ceremony was held virtually on April 10 to celebrate excellence and accomplishment across the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy community. The event recording can be viewed here, and award recipients are as follows:
Student Academic Awards
Office of Professional Education Academic Excellence Award
This award, sponsored by the Office of Professional Education, is given to a graduating student who has excelled in pharmacy studies.
Donna Steinbacher
Presenter: Wendy Cox
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Acute Care Residency at the University of Virginia Health in Charlottesville, VA
Lynn F. Kieffer Award for Excellence
This award recognizes a graduating student from the Asheville campus who possesses outstanding records of academic achievement, campus leadership, and community engagement. This award is presented annually on behalf of the faculty and staff of the Asheville campus to a student who has demonstrated excellence in the classroom, has embraced professional dispositions, and has contributed to promoting the profession of pharmacy and serving others through community outreach events in Western North Carolina. This award is provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation and made possible through the generosity of Lynn Kieffer ’77 and Dr. Bob Kieffer.
Cessali Fox
Presenter: Mollie Scott
Post-Grad Plans: Pursuing a career in community pharmacy
This award recognizes a student who has exhibited the highest standards of knowledge, dedication, and compassion in patient care at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. This award is provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation and made possible through the generosity of Jamie Gasaway Kilar, BSPhar ’95, PharmD ’97.
Madison Stanley
Presenter: Wendy Cox
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Residency at the Salisbury VA Health System in Salisbury, NC
Ballenger-Smith Award for Excellence in the Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory
This award is presented for outstanding performance by a first-, second-, or third-year student in the Patient Care Laboratory who demonstrates excellence in professionalism, written and verbal communications, pharmaceutical compounding, medication administration, and patient care. This award is provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation and is given by E. Scott Ballenger, BSPhar ’91, and Jennifer Smith Ballenger, AB ’87, to honor William L. Ballenger’s twenty-three years teaching at the North Carolina State School of Education and Robert L. Smith’s twenty-six years as a lab instructor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
Meghan Peterson
Presenter: Bob Shrewsberry
Division Awards
Jacobs Award in Medicinal Chemistry
The Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry selects a graduating pharmacy student who achieved excellence in medicinal chemistry coursework and research. This award is provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation and was established in memory of M. L. Jacobs, a medicinal chemist who was dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy from 1946 to 1950.
Emily Chang
Presenter: Scott Singleton
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Residency at UF Health, Jacksonville Health Center
Pharmaceutical Policy and Outcomes Award
The Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy recognizes a student who achieves excellence in the division as evidenced by his or her involvement in pharmaceutical policy and outcomes research, teaching, or service projects.
Jennifer Schweiger
Presenter: Betsy Sleath
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Residency at Children’s Hospital Colorado
The Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics selects a graduating student who has demonstrated a high degree of professional motivation and concern about the role of the pharmacist in the delivery of health care.
Michele Muir
Presenter: Bob DuPuis
Post-Grad Plans: Medical Affairs Fellow at UNC/GlaxoSmithKline
Professor Leaf Huang Pharmaceutics Achievement Award
This award recognizes a professional student, who not only excelled in the Pharmaceutics & Drug Delivery course during the first year of the PharmD curriculum, but who also advanced the field through superior contributions in teaching or research in the area of pharmaceutics. This award is given in honor of Leaf Huang, Ph.D., Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor, in recognition of his service to the School and generous support of the division.
Morgan Phillips
Presenter: Mike Jay
John C. Hood Sr. Award in Practice Advancement and Clinical Education
The Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education recognizes a graduating student who excels in clinical-therapy courses and demonstrates the highest level of professionalism and exemplary patient care during his or her pharmacy immersion experiences. This award is provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation, and given by family and friends of John C. Hood Sr., a third-generation pharmacist whose father was a charter member of the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association.
Christopher Wang
Presenter: Stefanie Ferreri
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Residency at the MD Anderson Cancer Center with the University of Texas in Houston
F.O. Bowman Award
This award is presented to a student in the Research and Scholarship in Pharmacy program in recognition of exemplary work and dedication to their mentored, in-depth longitudinal research project. Funding for this award is provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation and is given by Fred O. Bowman Jr., MD ’50, in honor of his father, who served as general counsel to the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association and the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy.
Ben Penley
Presenter: Craig Lee
Post-Grad Plans: Medical Communications fellowship at Xcenda in Dallas, TX
Teaching Awards
PY1 Instructor of the Year Award
The PY1 class recognizes a faculty member who teaches coursework in the first year of the professional curriculum in recognition of exemplary instructional ability and interest in the students and the educational programs of the School.
Dr. Adam Persky
Presenter: Tom Diaz
PY2 Instructor of the Year Award
The PY2 class recognizes a faculty member who teaches coursework in the second year of the professional curriculum in recognition of exemplary instructional ability and interest in the students and the educational programs of the School.
Dr. Suzanne Harris
Presenter: Libby Powell
PY3 Instructor of the Year Award
The PY3 class recognizes a faculty member who teaches coursework in the third year of the professional curriculum in recognition of exemplary instructional ability and interest in the students and the educational programs of the School.
Dr. Ashley Marx
Presenter: Kim Gromek
Overall Instructor of the Year
The graduating class recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated the most exemplary instructional ability and interest in the students throughout the four years of the professional program.
Dr. Suzanne Harris
Presenter: Jeffery Seals
The Claude Paoloni Preceptors of the Year
The graduating class recognizes two preceptors for outstanding contributions to the educational development of future pharmacists. These individuals have demonstrated high standards of professionalism, ethics, and clinical practice. Provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation, these awards are given by the Paoloni family in memory of Claude Paoloni and in recognition of his many years of service to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Claude Paoloni was instrumental in the evolution of the clinical pharmacy program and the growth and development of the AHEC system for statewide pharmacy student education.
Dr. Ranan Mustafa
Presenter: Christy Holland
Dr. Marie Tuft
Presenter: Christy Holland
Dr. Bill Hitch
Presenter: Christy Holland
Student Activity Awards
Kappa Epsilon Award
The Lambda Chapter of Kappa Epsilon recognizes a student who has demonstrated leadership, character, service, and scholarship.
Danielle Shelton
Presenters: Sisi Tran
The Epsilon Chapter of Phi Lambda Sigma recognizes a student who has most noticeably developed and exercised effective leadership skills within the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy by creating positive change, developing relationships, and empowering others.
Rachel Gilmore
Presenter: Neel Swamy
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 pharmacy Residency at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, TN
George H. Cocolas Pharmacy Student Body Award
The student body recognizes a member of the graduating class who has demonstrated the highest qualities of character, deportment, scholarship, participation in extracurricular activities, and promise of future distinction in the profession of pharmacy. This award is given by the Student Senate and is in memory of George H. Cocolas, PhD ’56, former associate dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
Anna Brown
Presenter: Chris Parish
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Ambulatory Care Residency at Atrium Health Cabarrus
The student body presents this award as peer recognition for all-around service and dedication to the profession of pharmacy. The award was established in 1998 by the Student Senate and named in memory of Boka W. Hadzija, PhD, a pharmacy faculty member, in recognition of her many contributions to the students and educational programs of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
Akshara Kumar
Presenter: Wendy Cox
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Community-Based Residency Program at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland
Mikey Nam Well-Being and Resiliency Award
This award is given in memory of Mikey Nam, a UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy student on the Asheville campus who passed away in 2017, to a pharmacy student who demonstrates strong leadership in well-being or resiliency. Mikey not only emphasized the importance of improving oneself, but also motivated others to make a positive difference in the community. The recipient embodies the same core values as Mikey—inclusion, friendship, compassion and joy. This award is provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation.
Kulchanok ‘Liw’ Panichakornkul
Presenter: Mollie Scott
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Ambulatory Care Residency at Mission Health
Special Recognition
Samuel Burrus Award for Community Service
This award is presented to a graduating PharmD student who exhibits outstanding and unselfish civic, community, or church volunteer service provided outside the scope of regular pharmacy practice. This award is provided by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation and is given by Dr. Henry T. Clark Jr. and Blanche Burrus Clark, BSPhar ’41, and members of the Burrus family in memory of Samuel B. Burrus, who graduated in 1915 from the Southern College of Pharmacy in Atlanta.
Galina Wang
Presenter: Wendy Cox
Post-Grad Plans: PGY1 Residency at the Salisbury VA Health System in Salisbury, NC
UNC School of Pharmacy Distinguished Service Award
This award is given to an individual or individuals whose accomplishments and contributions have enhanced the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as well as the profession of pharmacy at the local, state, national, or international level. In particular, the recipients have provided distinguished service to the School and are therefore considered exceptional supporters of the School’s service and outreach initiatives.
John Grabenstein, MS, PhD
Presenter: Dean Kashuba
Other Awards
PAA Distinguished Alumni Award
Dr. Toyin Tofade, ’89, ’94, ’97
Presenter: Jeff New
PAA Alumni Burrus Award
Robert Crouch, ’76
Presenter: Wendy Cox
50+ Award Recipients
Recipients
Joe Hatley
H. Smith
George Young
Jo Queen
Mary Cline
Steve Almond
W. Girtman
Lillian Chapman
Elizabeth Williams
Jackie Thompson
Clarence Ridout
Larry Cline
Susan Coggin
Stephen Carswell
Ronald Kudla
Edward Morris
Bonita Fulk
Monty Hiatt
Billy Wease
Barbara Currie
Frank Spencer
Jo Ann Williams
Carl Craddock
A. Strickland
C. Harrell
Mary Ramsey
Waldorf Crawley
Jesse Pike
Robert Greenwood
Bradley Humphreys
Joseph Salem
Benjamin Partin
Mary Fischer
Michael Sperling
J. Kirkpatrick
Barbara Smutney
F. Dean
Stephen Fuller
Phillip Ward
Richard Jump
James Thomas
Judy Jordan
Cynthia Hundley
Barbara Pittman
William Richards
Linda Propst
H. Kivett
Gail Hutchison
Virginia Timmerman
Thomas Eason
Fouad Naifeh
James Stewart
Robert Johnson
Joy Southerland
Alvin Alexander
Richard Bower
Betty Heard
Allen McCanless
Charles Branton
Larry Elliott
Gary Hartley
David Barker
Lynne Rackley
Charles Killian
George Browning
John Brown
Robert Handy
Richard Mack
Phillip Minton
Susan McLean
Sallie Womack
Avery Moore
Wyatt Moser
deBruyne deBruyne
Mick League
Barbara Hankins
James McAllister
Clyde Kistler
Gill Ripley
Martha Vaughn
W. Vaughn
Mark Creasman
Martha Nance
Grady Stone
Robert Worley
C. DeVane
Donald Royster
Jerry Palmer
Judy Hooks
Michael Williams
Jerry Poteet
Larry Brown
Anne-Marie Wray
Larry Hill
William Paschall
William Baxley
Elaine Glover
Warren Binnick
Roger Putnam
Walda Jones
Jane Davis
Thomas Triplett
Leon Sandlin
Russell Smith
James Furness
Eric Jackson
Dianne Davis
James Smutney