10th Anniversary Celebration

After the UNT System College of Pharmacy was created in 2011, UNTHSC leaders needed someone with the vision and experience to build a high-quality program to train the providers of the future. The search led to Dr. Jacobson, a former HSC faculty member, successful entrepreneur, renowned expert on translational pharmaceutical research, and experienced academic leader in pharmacy education.

Dr. Jacobson assembled and led a team of experienced educators and researchers to search for and hire talented faculty and staff to help build the College of Pharmacy educational and research programs.  This team and faculty, led by Dr. Jacobson, created an innovative curriculum that integrated knowledge, communication, patient-centered practice and team-based care. His motto for the program was “We make healthcare better” which is realized by pharmacists providing comprehensive medication management and being a valuable and integral member of the interprofessional team.

Under Dr. Jacobson’s steady leadership in building the foundation that prepared the college for success, the UNT System College of Pharmacy earned accreditation and graduated their first PharmD Class in 2017.

Comments from nominators: “He excelled in not only administration and services, but also in teaching and team building. His sense of humor was also highly remarkable. He is the Hero of the college.”

“Dr. Jacobson possesses incredible organizational skills as demonstrated by his unique ability to create teams of faculty and staff to tackle the complexities of building a college of pharmacy from scratch and in a very short timeframe.”

Early on in 2012, Dr. William “Bill” Lubawy was recruited by Dr. Jacobson to serve as a Special Assistant to the Dean. Later, he served as a part-time faculty member in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He had retired from a three-decade career at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, where he spent time teaching pharmacy students, conducting research and serving in college administration.

Dr. Lubawy brought a wealth of experience with him to help establish the new College of Pharmacy in Fort Worth, contributing to program development, assessment and accreditation, and we are forever grateful.

Comments from nominators: “He was integral in developing the first assessment program for the college and spent countless hours helping to build the UNT System College of Pharmacy.”

“With his experience as an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Kentucky, Dr. Lubawy was an incredible asset in our preparation of self-studies for the ACPE. Not only did he keep us on track and on point, but he did it with a great sense of humor and a memorable laugh that made the tasks at hand far easier.”

Thirty years ago, Dr. Yorio was the Founding Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and served as Dean for 15 years. During this time, he also served as Vice President for Research and was subsequently selected as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at UNTHSC.

He is responsible for originating the idea of establishing a pharmacy school and was instrumental in the creation of the System College of Pharmacy. Dr. Yorio recruited Dr. Tina Machu as the Interim Dean and hired the founding Dean, Dr. Myron Jacobson.  Dr. Yorio was committed to seeing the College of Pharmacy added as a school to broaden the health care team approach to patient care and as another important program at HSC.

Today, Dr. Yorio is Provost Emeritus and a member of the North Texas Eye Research Institute at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

Dr. Killam-Worrall’s leadership has been instrumental in the development of the College. She was responsible for designing the College of Pharmacy’s Experiential Education Program. Beginning as Assistant Dean, she recruited sites, trained preceptors, hired a team, and developed an experiential curriculum. She also served as Associate Dean for Pharmacy Education and left her mark on the curriculum.

Dr. Killam-Worrall has worked tirelessly to build and marry an experiential curriculum that integrates with the didactic curriculum and is responsible for the development of hundreds of preceptors and sites in the DFW area. Beyond that, she has contributed to advancing the practice of pharmacy in North Texas through her vision of embedding students into sites to uplift the practice.

Nominator comments: “She is firmly committed to our students, serving as a support, a caring voice, and a mentor and advisor to all.”

From the Mercy Clinic of Fort Worth: “Dr. Worrall, has had a great impact on our clinic, she along with the students come to donate their time to serve our community. She is a very kind person and students who come to the clinic as volunteers can have a mentor who guides them and teaches them how to be a better pharmacist for patients, especially those in need.”

Dr. Pang retired from a successful career at Alcon in 2012 and was asked by the then Provost, Dr. Yorio, to help build the new Pharmacy School. As founding Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Pang was instrumental in recruiting many of the faculty in the Department and building the college’s research capabilities and strengths.

During this time, like so many faculty members, he served on numerous committees, and participated in drafting many of the initial policies, guidelines, requirements, etc., for the school.

Comments from nominators: “Dr. Pang was a consistent advocate for faculty and helped many of us obtain essential resources for our laboratories that continue to pay dividends to this day. Dr. Pang was a favorite among students, teaching many sessions in Physiology and Pharmacology. Even after his retirement, he continues to contribute to teaching in the Physiology and foundational Drug Discovery & Development courses.”

Dr. Jann served as the founding Chair of the Pharmacotherapy Department and already had a distinguished career spanning more than three decades in pharmacy education and clinical pharmacology. Dr. Jann contributed to recruiting faculty, creating practice site collaborations, designing and teaching the curriculum, and mentoring faculty and students. He also developed and led the Residency Teaching Certificate.

Although a retired professor of the college, Dr. Jann continues to teach courses, mentor faculty and contributes immensely to our recruitment efforts. He was also recently named the prestigious 2023 Nathaniel T. Kwit Memorial Distinguished Service Award recipient by the American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

Comments from nominators: “As founding chair, the college would not be what it is without his efforts. He was a fervent supporter of faculty in building their practices the way they envisioned, and he was also a supporter of clinical and translational research of all types. He encouraged faculty and students to always do their best and was a resource for many.”

Dr. Machu was also one of the first faculty members of the college, recruited by Dr. Yorio from her post at TCOM. The list of Dr. Machu’s contributions to the College of Pharmacy is far too long to cover this evening, but her impact on the students, faculty, and staff has been immeasurable.

She has not only acted as Interim Dean on three separate occasions, but she has also played a significant role in helping with the development of a dual degree with public health, three certificate programs, two new master’s programs and agreements with UNT Denton, UNT Dallas, and Dallas College to expand our college’s educational offerings. Celebrating her 20^th year at HSC, Dr. Machu has also been instrumental in teaching, administration, student services and admissions and recruitment for the College of Pharmacy.

Comments from nominators: “Dr. Machu is a consistent advocate for students and invests substantial time and energy into helping them overcome obstacles and achieve their goals each and every day.”

“Of particular note, her leadership leading up to and during the 2017 ACPE Accreditation Site Visit was exceptional and a major contributor to the positive outcome that followed.”

Mr. Coyle’s contributions to the College of Pharmacy began as a consultant for the college to translate “IT Speak” between the HSC IT Dept. and the pharmacy school’s administration. Shortly thereafter, he was recruited and hired as Program Manager to help develop the admissions technology and set up technology to support the delivery of the curriculum, assist with assessment, and contribute to the development of the 2014 Self Study document and the 2017 Self Study document in preparation for the ACPE accreditation site visit.  Since then, he has built and led the Office of Student Experience & Academic Services (SEAS) focusing on supporting the education and success of the PharmD students and played an integral role in the development of the 2022 Self Study document for the most recent ACPE accreditation site visit.

Nominator comments: “Without Mr. Coyle, it is hard to imagine how many of us would run into technical issues that would otherwise have hindered our day-to-day job functioning. I’d call Mr. Coyle an unsung hero.”

Ms. Coyle has been instrumental in the College of Pharmacy’s substantial progress in all areas related to research since its founding. Every faculty member involved in research quickly realizes the multiple ways that Ms. Coyle positively contributes to their day-to-day work. She has and continues to run the Pharmaceutical Analysis Core Lab and has overseen its considerable growth, both with regard to its capabilities, capacity, and impact. Not surprisingly, Ms. Coyle was recognized as the inaugural winner of the College’s Award in Service. She works tirelessly without self-promotion or concern for recognition and is an example to us all.

Nominator’s comments: “Ms. Coyle is an unsung hero!”

“She is always more than pleasant to work with and very accommodating. She treats all the instruments as if they were her own babies and all the users like family. In conjunction to that work, she performs all her tasks ‘by-the-book” and helps others around her do the same. She has been instrumental in helping to set up other cost centers within the College and get legal agreements in place so all service providers in the College can work to bring in outside revenue appropriately.”

Ms. Day works collaboratively with faculty ensuring our students are successful in the Skills Lab and in OSCEs. She also serves as the secondary instructor for the college’s first Microcredential program in non-sterile compounding and organizes the annual “field trip” to the Fort Worth Zoo for the advanced compounding elective students.

Ms. Day also volunteers with students at the Tarrant County Food Bank and is a true mentor to them, always offering words of encouragement. She has served two consecutive terms as President of the Tarrant County Pharmacy Association, owning the distinction of being the first pharmacy technician to ever hold this office.

Nominator’s comments: “Ms. Day is an integral part of the SEAS Team, is dedicated to furthering the pharmacy profession and is a Skills Lab hero to our students.”

We certainly would not be here without our inaugural class who took a chance on us! They had the courage to help build a new College of Pharmacy in Fort Worth, and they can always say they were the first to blaze the trail for all pharmacy students to come. We had 82 students join the very first pharmacy school in North Texas, and they were eager, excited, and ready to learn.

Thank you to the Class of 2017 for setting the tone for our future student success and for representing our college of pharmacy in your communities. We salute you!

Dr. Pamela Carter, a Class of 2017 alum, accepted the award on behalf of her class.