The College of Pharmacy, located in Avedisian Hall, will open a hall of fame in October. Photo by James McIntosh.
The college will hold its first inaugural hall of fame ceremony in October
The College of Pharmacy will induct its inaugural class to the Pharmacy Hall of Fame in October, celebrating the lifetime achievements of four University scholars.
This year’s ceremonial honorees include Dr. Norman Campbel, Dr. Joan Lausier, Dr. Yuzuru Shimizu (posthumous) and Dr. Leonard Worthen. Each inductee was a faculty member and professor at the University of Rhode Island in the College of Pharmacy. Campbell and Lausier were also former deans.
The ceremony will take place on Oct. 4 from 6-8 p.m. in Avedesian Hall. The building will also display a wall of fame with plaques in dedication to the honorees on the first floor level.
Paul Larrat, dean of the College of Pharmacy, is hoping to honor these faculty emeritus by introducing the college’s own hall of fame.
“We’re always honoring our alumni with awards, distinguished achievement awards and honorary degrees, but what we don’t do very well sometimes is honor the faculty and staff at the University who really are nationally or internationally known and who have had a huge impact on the lives of students,” Larrat said.
The Hall of Fame was inspired by many other URI college Hall of Fames, specifically the College of Environmental and Life Sciences, which introduced their new class most recently, according to Larrat.
The ceremony will begin with the inaugural Shimizu Lecture, an annual lecture dedicated to one of this year’s hall of fame honorees. Dr. John Clardy, a visiting pharmacology professor from Harvard University, will give a presentation on natural products in medication.
It will be followed by the presentation of the honor to each honoree with an alumni or faculty sponsor. Each will be given time to share a brief acceptance speech, and the ceremony will end with a reception in Avedesian’s Heber W. Youngken Medicinal Garden.
Lausier received her degree in pharmacy from URI in 1962, and soon after went on to be the first female faculty member in the College of Pharmacy. She served URI as a professor and assistant dean for 41 years, retiring in 2012. According to Lausier, during her time at URI, she oversaw more than 2,000 students attain their pharmacy degrees.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized,” Lausier said. “I always tried to do my best when I was in the college, making sure our students were successful. It’s a big honor for me to be recognized for that.”
Today, Lausier volunteers twice a week in the Youngken Garden, as a Friend of the Garden, working to maintain the medicinal products grown there and compete on other projects as necessary.
Campbell served many roles during his time at URI as well. An alumnus of the class of 1957, Campbell later held titles of assistant to the provost for Health Science Affairs, chairman of the Department of Pharmacy Administration and associate dean of the College of Pharmacy, among other titles. He served as a professor for the University and wrote over 100 publications.
Campbell has retired, but is excited to return to campus for the ceremony in October as an honoree.
“The one word is wow,” Campbell said. “I’m overwhelmed and certainly appreciative. It’s hard to describe, let me put it that way. You have to be a little bit ego-centric, but I am delighted. The whole class of people invest a lot of time and energy to try and do the very best job we can. That should be a motivation for everyone to always try to do the best you can.”
The College of Pharmacy expects approximately 100 attendees at the event. It has been opened up to students, faculty, staff and alumni to attend, permitting an RSVP and a fee of $20.