VCU news

By Anne Dreyfuss
C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research

Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D., dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, has been named president-elect of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. He will be sworn in at AACP’s annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, in July 2015 and will serve as president-elect until 2016. He will serve as president of the national association from 2016 to 2017.

DiPiro has been active in AACP on various committees throughout his career in addition to serving as the editor of the association’s flagship journal, the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, for 12 years.

“It will be wonderful to have Dean DiPiro’s thoughtful leadership at our board table once more,” said Lucinda L. Maine, Ph.D., AACP executive vice president and CEO. “His insights on priorities across the academy have been finely honed.”

DiPiro joined VCU in July after serving as executive dean and professor for the South Carolina College of Pharmacy for nine years, where he built the research program of the college to its top 25 national ranking and fueled a large growth of the college’s endowment. He is the editor of “Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach,” which, now in its ninth edition, is the leading market pharmacotherapy text.

At VCU, one of DiPiro’s chief objectives is to collaborate with other VCU Health Sciences disciplines to increase interprofessional education opportunities for pharmacy students.

“Dr. DiPiro is one of the preeminent scholars of the academic pharmacy community,” said Sheldon Retchin, M.D., senior vice president for VCU Health Sciences and CEO of VCU Health System. “His accomplishments are extraordinary in terms of scholarly contributions and national leadership.”

Soon after his appointment at VCU, DiPiro was selected to receive the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s 2014 Paul F. Parker Medal for Distinguished Service to the Profession of Pharmacy. He is a nationally renowned leader in pharmacy education, having published more than 200 journal papers, books, book chapters and editorials in academic and professional journals. DiPiro’s research is mainly in antibiotics, drug use in surgery, and pharmacy education.

As president of AACP, DiPiro will preside over the board of directors and provide overall direction for the association that works to advance pharmacy education, research, scholarship, practice and service to improve societal health.

“AACP is a very dynamic organization, and its members have been innovative with progressive methods of instruction in pharmacy education,” DiPiro said. “I find it very exciting to be a part of the association and look forward to this leadership position.”

Subscribe for free to the weekly VCU News email newsletter at http://newsletter.news.vcu.edu/ and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox every Thursday. VCU students, faculty and staff automatically receive the newsletter.