Keith Olsen, Pharm.D., dean of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy, was invested April 6 as the recipient of the College of Pharmacy Dean’s Chair.
Olsen was presented with a medallion commemorating the investiture by UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., and Stephanie Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., UAMS senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost.
An endowed chair is among the highest academic honors a university can bestow on a faculty member and is established with gifts of at least $1 million, which are invested to support the activities of the chair holder. Those named to a chair are among the most highly regarded scientists, physicians and professors in their fields. A chair can honor the memory of a loved one or may honor a person’s accomplishments.
“This will supply flexible funds to the dean to invest in high-impact and high-potential areas that the dean would otherwise not have to funds to use. It’s incredibly important,” Rahn said. “The Dean’s Chair is one of six endowed chairs in the College of Pharmacy, and they are even more vital today as we are strapped for resources in teaching and education. These enable us to advance the field in ways we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.”
The ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center as part of the Dean’s Recognition Dinner, an annual event to acknowledge and thank donors for their financial support of the College of Pharmacy.