Purdue selects interim dean for College of Pharmacy, Nursing, Health Sciences

Holly Mason

Mason will succeed current dean John M. Pezzuto, a professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology who, on Dec. 22, was selected as founding dean of the University of Hawaii at Hilo's College of Pharmacy. Pezzuto will assume his duties there on June 1.

Pezzuto has been dean of the college since 2002.

Purdue Provost Sally Mason has appointed a committee to conduct an immediate national search for a new dean. The committee will be chaired by Dennis R. Depew, dean of the College of Technology.

"During his nearly 27 years at Purdue, Holly Mason has proven himself as a strong leader and excellent educator in a variety of academic and administrative roles that have greatly enhanced the university's pharmacy program," Sally Mason said. "I have full confidence in Dr. Mason's ability to set a positive course for the college during this time of transition."

Sally Mason said the appointment will deliberately overlap with Pezzuto's continued service to allow for a smooth transition during the college's April accreditation review.

Holly Mason, a professor of pharmacy administration, started at Purdue as an assistant professor of pharmacy administration in 1979. Since that time, he has served as the associate head of pharmacy administration, associate head of pharmacy practice and interim head of pharmacy practice. In 1998 he was made associate dean for professional programs. He was selected as associate dean for academic programs in 2004.

"Through the years at Purdue, I have enjoyed working with a wide variety of students and faculty in the pharmacy program," he said. "In my new role, I am eager to work with all three units of the college — pharmacy, nursing and health sciences — to continue to bolster an environment that fosters learning, research and engagement as we look toward the future."

Mason's research focuses on career paths for pharmacists, including investigations of job satisfaction, pharmacist practice patterns and professional commitment. He also studies performance-based student outcomes in pharmacy education and patient-oriented pharmacy services, which involve studies of patient counseling, consumer perceptions and use of pharmacy services, and barriers to the delivery of services.

He has published more than 70 scientific and professional articles and has presented more than 100 research and professional papers at national pharmacy meetings. Mason has received more than $1 million in funding for his research and has been a consultant on several pharmacy-related projects. He also has been the recipient of two annual best paper awards for research published in the American Journal of Pharmacy Education.

Mason is a member of the American Society of Health System Pharmacy, the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, the American Pharmacists Association and the Indiana Pharmacists Alliance.

He has served in various leadership roles in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, including secretary for the council of deans, chairman of the distinguished educator selection committee and a member of the committee on assessment.

Mason is the recipient of many awards, including the Distinguished Alumnus Citation of Merit from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Robert K. Chalmers Distinguished Educator Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. In 2000 he was named a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association, was a Teaching Academy Fellow at Purdue University in 2001 and was a Melvin Jones Fellow of the West Lafayette Sagamore Lions in 2002.

Mason received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1972, 1975 and 1979, respectively.

The College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences has 1,960 undergraduates, 171 graduate students and 639 professional pharmacy students.

The pharmacy program has 754 undergraduates and 117 graduate students. In April, U.S. News & World Report ranked Purdue's doctoral program in pharmacy fourth in the nation.

The School of Nursing has 555 undergraduates and 17 graduate students. The School of Health Sciences has 651 undergraduates and 37 graduate students.

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Sources: Sally Mason, (765) 494-9709, sfmason@purdue.edu

Holly L. Mason, (765) 494-1361, holly@pharmacy.purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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