Contact: Ellen Bank (MUSC)
843.792.2626
Russ McKinney (USC)
803.777.1234
Dec. 10, 2004
CHARLESTON -- The appointment of Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D., as executive dean of the integrated Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)/University of South Carolina (USC) pharmacy education program was announced today by MUSC President Ray Greenberg and USC President Andrew Sorensen.
The MUSC Board of Trustees approved the appointment today at its regularly scheduled meeting, and it is expected that the USC Board of Trustees will approve granting tenure at its scheduled meeting on December 13.
Currently assistant dean of the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Pharmacy and head of the college’s Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy, DiPiro also serves as assistant dean for pharmacy programs and clinical professor of surgery at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.
In addition to a varied background that includes research, education, clinical and administrative responsibilities, DiPiro brings substantial experience working in a multi-institutional setting. Sorensen and Greenberg agree that this background makes him an excellent choice for this challenging new position. His responsibilities at the two Georgia institutions 100 miles apart have required weekly presence at both the Athens and Augusta campus. His new position will send him back and forth between Columbia and Charleston as well as to other areas of South Carolina as the statewide pharmacy education initiative expands.
“His talents, expertise and dedication to excellence in pharmaceutical education have served the state of Georgia for many years,” Sorensen said. “We are confident that Dr. DiPiro’s appointment to the executive deanship of this novel, integrated program will not only increase and improve educational opportunities for the citizens of our state, but will make South Carolina a national leader in pharmacy education,” Greenberg added.
Plans call for naming the integrated program the South Carolina College of Pharmacy. As executive dean of the program, DiPiro will have offices on both campuses and report to the presidents of both institutions. Greenberg and Sorensen plan to expand the program to offer pharmacy education programs beyond Columbia and Charleston.
DiPiro serves as editor of the leading journal in the field of pharmacy education, the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Additionally he serves or has served on the editorial boards of seven other professional journals. He is an author or editor of 18 books, 25 book chapters and 119 articles in his field.
A fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, DiPiro holds a long list of honors and awards recognizing his contributions and leadership in the field of pharmacy and pharmacy education. This includes the Education Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the Distinguished Educator Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, both awarded this year.
Under DiPiro’s leadership, UGA’s Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy’s research activities have increased from a level of minimal research (approximately $100,000 per year in grants 10 years ago) to almost $1.5 million currently. His personal research interests are in therapeutic issues related to trauma, sepsis, and surgical infections. He has conducted clinical trials of antimicrobials and immuno-active agents to treat these conditions, and has conducted studies to examine the immunologic response to trauma and sepsis. In addition, he is interested in studies of outcomes from surgical infections.
DiPiro received his B.S. degree magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut and his Pharm.D. degree from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. He completed a pharmacy residency at the Albert B. Chandler Medical Center in Lexington Kentucky and held a postdoctoral research fellowship in clinical immunology at Johns Hopkins University. In addition, he completed a management development program at Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
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