Linda Gore Martin has been named dean of the UW School of Pharmacy. (UW Photo)
Linda Gore Martin has been selected as the new dean of the School of Pharmacy in the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences beginning in January. The appointment will become official upon the Board of Trustees’ approval in January.
She replaces John Vandel, who is retiring after serving as interim dean in 2003 and as dean since 2004. A retirement reception for Vandel is set for 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, in the College of Health Sciences Surge Area.
“Dr. Martin has a great depth of knowledge and experience with the school, college and university,” Vandel says. “She is well qualified to lead our school forward as we continue to be a school of excellence in teaching, research and service."
UW's nationally accredited pharmacy curriculum begins with a two-year, pre-professional program followed by the four-year professional program that entails three years of coursework on campus and a full year of experiential coursework performed off campus. Graduates have consistently scored higher than the national average on national licensure examinations. A UW Doctor of Pharmacy degree meets the educational requirements to take pharmacy state board examinations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
"The UW School of Pharmacy is well known by employers as having high-quality graduates, and that starts with the quality of the applicants and the students we admit to the program,” says Martin. “They are the cream of the college crop. We start out with the best and work to develop them into becoming even better.
“We give our students the tools to be able to practice in any setting, whether it’s the challenges of the rural frontier or an urban practice,” Martin adds. “When they go out, we hope they will be able to adapt to any of those settings, regardless of the geography or the patient population.”
Founded in 1946, the UW School of Pharmacy offers the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) as the sole entry-level professional degree. Classes of 52 students assure each student maximum individual attention; however, admission to the professional program is limited and highly competitive. The school’s professors are experienced in teaching, dedicated to their field and skilled in clinical service and research. They conduct world-class basic and applied research in the pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacy practice, health-care systems, drug-delivery systems and treatment of disease.
A graduate of Creighton University (Pharm.D. ’98) and UW (M.B.A. ’79 and Bachelor of Science in pharmacy in 1975), Martin previously was the pharmacy school’s associate dean of Operations and Academic Affairs. She began her career at the UW School of Pharmacy as a drug information specialist and served 21 years as the coordinator of Drug Information Services.
In 2000, Martin accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position at the UW School of Pharmacy in social and behavioral pharmacy, with emphasis on drug information at the population level. She was promoted to associate professor in 2006 and became associate dean in 2007. She has published articles and book chapters in geriatrics and outcomes, served on the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program editorial board and has reviewed books on pharmacoeconomics, outcomes, women’s health, management and geriatrics.
Among Martin's honors are the UW College of Health Sciences awards for lifetime achievement (2011), outstanding research (2006) and meritorious service (2004); Wyoming Pharmacy Association Pfizer Bowl of Hygeia Community Service Award (2010); and the Alpha Nu Chapter of Phi Lambda Sigma Faculty Leadership Award (2010).
