2002 Honorary Degree

Thomas G. Gerding Doctor Of Science Thomas G. Gerding has exhibited leadership and vision for the production of consumer health care products throughout most of his career. Thomas G. Gerding Now partially retired and living in Georgetown, Texas, Dr. Gerding is credited with having overseen the development of more than 500 pharmaceutical products and medical devices while working with eight different companies, including Newform Development Laboratories Inc., of which he is currently the president. A native of Evanston, Ill., Dr. Gerding grew up in Ottawa, Ill. He attended the University of Notre Dame for a year before transferring to Purdue University, where he earned three degrees – a bachelor'of science in pharmacy in 1952, a master's in industrial pharmacy in 1954 and a doctorate in pharmaceutics in 1960. Dr. Gerding served in the United States Army Medical Service Corps at Brooke Army Medical Center during the Korean conflict. He was a faculty member in Purdue’s School of Pharmacy for six years before accepting a position in research and development at the Dow/Pitman-Moore Company in Indianapolis. He eventually moved to Sterling Drug Inc., in New York City; Sterling-Winthrop Research Institute in Rensselaer, N.Y.; Calgon Consumer Products in Rathway, N.J.; Beecham Products in Clifton, N.J.; and Johnson and Johnson Domestic Operating Company in New Brunswick, N.J. In 1988, Dr. Gerding retired from his position as vice president and member of the board of directors at Johnson and Johnson and formed his own consulting firm in Georgetown, Texas. At the same time, he joined the faculty at the University of Texas in nearby Austin, serving as director of the Drug Dynamics Institute. He remained in that position until 1995 while also starting his current company. Over the years, Dr. Gerding has served on the dean’s Pharmacy Advisory Council at Purdue and Texas. Purdue’s School of Pharmacy honored him as a distinguished alumnus in 1984 and the Texas College of Pharmacy honored him with the Best Friend Award in 2000. His organizational memberships include John Purdue Club, Purdue Alumni Association, Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, Dean’s Club Inner Circle at Purdue, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, American Chemical Society and numerous honorary scientific societies.