Jorndt receives Weaver medal
Retired president, CEO and chairman of Walgreen Co. Dan Jorndt, PH’63, received the Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal of Honor — the highest award given by Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

At the awards ceremony in April, Jorndt reflected on his experiences as the leader of one of the nation's largest chains of drugstores.

Jorndt began his career at Walgreen Co. in 1963 and held various store, district and regional management positions. He was named company treasurer in 1982 and president in 1990. He became CEO in 1998 and chairman in 1999, both after the retirement of Charles R. Walgreen III from those respective positions. Jorndt stepped down in 2002.

Jorndt said that throughout his career, he had seen the pharmacy industry become more professional and pharmacists become even more “knowledgeable and kind.” He predicted that “the industry will continue to become more professional, better educated and better trained than they are now. And these folks here at Drake will be heading that change.”

Jorndt received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Drake in 1999 and the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1990. Jorndt and his wife Pat, a 1964 Drake graduate, made a personal donation of $1 million to establish the Walgreen Pharmacy Scholarship Fund for students in Drake’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

The Weaver Medal of Honor was established by Drake alumnus Lawrence Weaver, dean emeritus of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, and his wife, Delores.

CPHS team wins national competition
When the first Drake students to compete in the National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Competition sponsored by the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy headed to San Francisco last spring, they were hoping to make the finals. When all was said and done, Drake’s team not only made the finals, but won the competition in San Francisco.
“At first we were thrilled to get into the top eight for the finals,” said Emily Rogers, a fourth-year pharmacy student from West Des Moines, IA, and one of four members of the Drake team. “When we won, I was thrilled. It’s a big win for the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and one of the best things I’ve done as a student.”
In addition to Rogers, the team consisted of Abby Butler, a third-year pharmacy student from Sioux City, IA; Phil Grgurich, a second-year pharmacy student from Canton, IL; and Nichole Schliemann, a first-year pharmacy student from Kasota, MN.
The competition focused on analyzing drug products and determining which ones are most medically appropriate and cost effective for treating disease and promoting health.
“The judges were extremely complimentary,” Larson said, “and the comments weren’t just about this particular issue, but also addressed how the students understand the entire scope of managed-care pharmacy.”

Professor named Pharmacist of the Year
The Iowa Pharmacy Association named Geoff Wall, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, the 2004 Health-System Pharmacist of the Year.
The Health-System Pharmacist of the Year Award is a national awards program sponsored by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals that honors service to the profession of pharmacy (specifically hospital pharmacy), contributions to pharmacy programs, cooperation with the entire health-care team and service to the community.

In his position as internal medicine clinical pharmacist at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Wall serves the educational needs of the Internal Medicine Residency Program and CPHS students.
Wall also was named Drake University College of Pharmacy Mentor of the Year for 2004. He spearheaded the implementation of a pharmacy practice residency program and currently serves as the director of this program in a unique collaboration between the CPHS and the Iowa Health-Des Moines pharmacy department.

CPHS welcomes high-quality entering class
Over the last few years, the CPHS admissions process has become much more competitive, as accreditation standards require the College to cap its admitted students in an effort to keep student-professor ratios at a level that will ensure a quality education. Meanwhile, more and more students are applying for admittance into the College. This increased competition has resulted in a high caliber of admitted students, as evidenced by this year’s entering class.

For the coming school year, the College admitted 304 students out of 549 applicants for an admission rate into pharmacy of 55 percent for entering first-year students.

In addition, nearly 200 students who applied to the CPHS were admitted to other majors at Drake (usually the second choice on their application).

The entering class had an average GPA of 3.89, an average ACT composite score of 28 (the national average is 20.8) and an ACT math score of 29. The profile of the class admitted increased by one whole point in each area over last year's admitted first-year pool, a four- to five-point increase over those admitted two years ago.

A number of factors went into admission decision, including GPAs, test scores, strength of curriculum, essay quality and leadership activities.

“The overriding consideration,” said Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Renae Chesnut, “was whether we felt each applicant could eventually progress into the professional program.”
Students nationally recognized

Drake CPHS students continue to represent the College well nationally.
Anne Corbett, a fourth-year pharmacy student, has been chosen to serve on the National Community Pharmacists Association Student Leadership Council, the national student executive committee for NCPA. Corbett has served two years on the NCPA Student Regional Council. Together the SRC and SLC represent the Pharmacy Student Entrepreneurship Section of the NCPA. The charge of the NCPA-PSES is to determine the direction of NCPA Student Affairs by providing guidance on programming for pharmacy student members.

And the American Pharmacists Association Foundation has announced that Drake student Jill Flaherty, a fourth-year pharmacy student, is one of four winners of the 2004 APhA Auxiliary/APhA $1,000 Foundation Pharmacy Student Scholarships.

The student awards, including two named scholarships, recognize high academic performance and demonstrated leadership skills through active involvement in APhA Academy of Students of Pharmacy chapters. Flaherty, who is pursuing both doctor of pharmacy and doctor of jurisprudence degrees, is involved in the Iowa Pharmacy Association and serves as the president of her APhAASP chapter while maintaining a high GPA.

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