Dean Granberg's Reflection on the Award

C. Boyd Granberg Professional Leadership Award

Friday, May 16, 2008

I offer my profound thanks to all who have had a part in developing this award.  I know there are many individuals who have been involved, but I must single out these few for special mention: Dean Raylene Rospond, Laura Sauser, and Emily Westergaard from the college and the university, and Jack and Audrey Ellis and Bob and Liz Schnarr from the alumni.  Their leadership, commitment, persistence, and friendship have brought this plan to fruition.

When Dean Rospond and Laura Sauser first broached the possibility of this project, they asked me what I thought would be appropriate.  After due and prolonged consideration, I suggested the possibility of a brass or Carrara marble life-size statue of me sporting a full-length white coat and a bow tie, standing in the unairconditioned T&P lab on the first floor of Fitch Hall of Pharmacy, holding a Remington open to the page outlining the directions for preparing, e.g., rolling cocoa butter urethral suppositories on a hot day in April…

Wisely, they rejected the idea and countered with the proposal being initiated today, and I am pleased with their ingenuity and thoughtfulness.  This leadership award will enable a faculty member of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to engage in professional and pharmaceutical education activities which otherwise might not be possible.  It is my wish that each recipient will have the pleasure, the enjoyment, and the benefit of his or her activities that will mimic the pleasure I received from my involvement in state and national pharmacy endeavors.

You all have heard the first two lines of an ancient poem, or at least a paraphrased version, that state: “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.”  He was certainly working in a wondrous way when, almost 58 years ago, He brought me to Des Moines, Iowa.

He brought me to Drake University and to its college of pharmacy, to a teaching facility where education was and is the main forte of its existence.  Where freedom of activity and encouragement of and support to faculty members were and are an integral part of the education process.  The support and influence I received from the university and college faculties, staffs, and administrations were paramount to my extracurricular activities.

He brought me to Iowa, to a location in which the profession of pharmacy was and is a place where state officers, Association staff, and board of pharmacy personnel interact with practitioners to insure a high level of professional activities unparalleled in the United States.  A state where practitioners and educators have the same goal: to engage in the profession of pharmacy to the benefit of the citizens of the state.

He brought me to a group of young men and women, literally to hundreds of them, who were an inspiration and a challenge to me; to mostly dedicated students who were a joy to know, a pleasure to work with, fulfilling to see graduate, and gratifying to witness their accomplishments in the work force.  I value the opportunity I had to know them, to work with them, and to retain a personal and professional friendship with many of them.

He brought me to the most wonderful woman in the world.  Certainly, she had to have been a super woman to have put up with me for 45 plus years.  She became my partner in all I did in education, in the profession, and in my personal life.  Peg made everything possible.  And He -- and she -- brought me to a family which over the years has been my delight, my satisfaction, my good fortune, my energy, and my love.  I am grateful to them and proud of them.

He brought me to a church where the ministers and the congregants have comforted me, heartened me, and been my friends.

You assembled here, and many others who are not, are representatives of these various groups which have invigorated me in my life’s work.  You are the ones who deserve to be honored this evening; I applaud you and I thank you for your consideration.

Reverend Randy Ehrhardt, Senior Minister at West Des Moines Christian Church, Sunday, May 18, 2008:

Friday night, at Drake University, they unveiled the C. Boyd Granberg, Professional Leadership Award in honor of our very own Boyd Granberg.  Put another way, as you heard his past students, peers, and the present Dean talk, Boyd was being honored for his integrity, teaching, encouraging nature, instilling in others the desire to learn, and most definitely his humility.  Boyd, your church is also proud of you!