Marilynn Mitchell-Deiss Named Alumna of the Year

Pharmacy Alumna of the Year, Marilynn Mitchell-Deiss

Marilynn H. Mitchell-Deiss of Casper, Wyoming, is the School of Pharmacy Alumna of the Year. Born in Fort Morgan, Colorado, Mitchell-Deiss graduated from Laramie High School in 1952 and is a 1956 graduate of the UW School of Pharmacy. She began her career as a registered pharmacist in 1958 and worked as a staff pharmacist at University Hospital in Augusta, Georgia, and also in retail pharmacies in Wyoming.

Mitchell-Deiss has played significant roles in state and national pharmaceutical organizations. She was the executive director of the Wyoming Board of Pharmacy for more than 31 years (1967–98) and was the first full-time employee of the board. She served on the Governor's Advisory Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse from 1969 to 1978 and was a member of the Wyoming Board of Medical Examiners.

In 1974, Mitchell-Deiss was the first woman ever elected president of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and has been included in numerous publications, including Who's Who in American Women, The World Who's Who of Women, and Notable Americans.

She has received many awards, including a certificate of commendation award from the American Institute of History of Pharmacy for writing a manual of the history of pharmacy in Wyoming for the past 100-plus years, "Chronological History of Pharmacy in Wyoming" (1990). She also planned and set up a pharmacy museum display.

Mitchell-Deiss has been a generous supporter of the School of Pharmacy and is a lifetime member of the UW Alumni Association. She is a world traveler, having been to all seven continents, and maintains an active interest in archeology. She has studied cultures around the world and began course work at Casper College this fall in anthropology/archeology.

Posted on Thursday, November 08, 2007