Gatton Rx Magazine - 2022

Greetings from Gatton

Our mission is to train future pharmacists who are prepared to serve rural and underserved areas, but we have one major disadvantage to meet that goal: Our tuition is nearly double that of the other public pharmacy school option.

Is that fair for future pharmacists in our region?

To meet the growing need for pharmacists in Tennessee and beyond, Gatton College of Pharmacy was created in 2005 as a private college housed within a public university with nearly all operating costs funded through tuition.

For years, we have operated under this private tuition model. However, it has become clear that Tennesseans who desire to stay in our region for a pharmacy education have to take on more debt than those across the state. That is why I believe the State of Tennessee should acquire and directly fund Gatton College of Pharmacy like it has done with other private colleges in West and Middle Tennessee. By closing the tuition gap in Tennessee for public pharmacy schools, the state can help future pharmacists in this region afford to stay here and provide health care to critical rural and underserved areas.

In this issue of Gatton Rx, you will read more about how our administration and legislators are working to remedy this tuition gap. I am so thankful for the support we have received from our community leaders and lawmakers, and I look forward to working closely with them in the coming year as we tackle this issue.

The pages of this magazine contain many examples of the reason this work is worthwhile and essential.

You will read about a new partnership with Ballad Health to improve health outcomes in our region and a top national award for service to our community. There are snapshots of our student successes and faculty features that highlight research, teaching, and service.

This year, we lost one of our greatest advocates and benefactors, the man for whom our college was named, Bill Gatton. Mr. Gatton passed away on April 18, 2022. His commitment to higher education and providing a college of pharmacy in East Tennessee paved the way for our student pharmacists and alumni. I am grateful for his legacy and proud to serve as Dean at the college he helped create.

To all of our alumni, friends, and student pharmacists: Thank you for your support of Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. Your impact and your stories make us stronger, so please share them with us. Find ways to mentor and encourage students who are interested in a career in pharmacy. Pharmacists change lives!

Debbie Byrd, PharmD, MBA Dean and Professor

CLOSING THE GAP

ETSU seeks to champion pharmacist workforce development and ensure access to pharmacists and health care in Tennessee

At the height of the pharmacist shortage in 2005, the State of Tennessee could not afford to fund a second pharmacy school in Tennessee despite a huge demand for pharmacists. Northeast Tennesseans rallied and the state allowed East Tennessee State University to found a pharmacy school through private donations, not public funds, creating what might be the only privately-funded state college in the country.

Gatton College of Pharmacy quickly became a national presence and economic powerhouse for Tennessee, providing an annual $40 million economic impact, and supplying a steady stream of highlytrained pharmacists with 87% of its nearly 1,000 graduates living in East Tennessee.

After the pharmacist demand was met, however, pharmacy schools across the country began to see steep declines in applications in 2018, especially at private colleges like Gatton College of Pharmacy whose tuition is nearly double that of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Pharmacy. With fewer pharmacy graduates and increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, a market correction happened and hiring for pharmacists increased 18% in 2021 alone, with sign-on bonuses offered locally and across the country as of July 2022. Jobs are predicted to continue increasing by over 4% through 2026.

ETSU President Brian Noland has made obtaining state funding for Gatton College of Pharmacy and

closing the pharmacy tuition gap in Tennessee the university’s top legislative priority. Now, the university is closer than ever to making that dream a reality and to providing an affordable and accessible pharmacy education in Northeast Tennessee.

FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS, Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy has educated pharmacists to meet the needs of our rural and underserved communities.

It is essential that the students of our region have access to affordable pharmacy education that is close to home. Therefore, ETSU will continue to pursue state funding to ensure that cost and distance are no longer obstacles for these students. This will remain a top priority for the university and for our region so that we can do our part to continue to meet the health care needs of all Tennesseans.Dr.BrianNoland, President East Tennessee State University

have the opportunity to go to the western side of the state no matter how you look at it when I was l Beingpharmacyresearchingschools.asinglemother and trying to raise a daughter while going to pharmacy school was extremely difficult. While I tried to be an inspiration to her by continuing my education, it would be nice if the state would acknowledge that and try to make it easier for students who can’t go to other areas of the state to attend school."

Dr. Erin Light (’19) Greeneville, Tennessee

If there was state funding, “that takes away the whole decision of tuition and then students could focus on which program is right for them. That would have alleviated all possible questions for me, and I probably never would have applied to the University of Tennessee. It would have been an Early Decision commitment to ETSU Bill Gatton College of Morristown,AustinPharmacy.”Gardner(’20)Tennessee

THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND business leaders had the foresight in the early 2000s to see the need for pharmacists in our health care workforce and also the potential economic impact a college of pharmacy would have for the Appalachian Highlands. These community leaders were the initial driving force behind efforts to establish a college at ETSU. Today, if you walk into a community pharmacy and see our students behind the counter or walk around downtown and see the number of people with Gatton t-shirts on, our community and economic impact is clear.

Dr. McKenzie Highsmith (’11) Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice Chair of the Chamber of Commerce serving Johnson City, Jonesborough, and Washington

Roadmap of the history of

State

inaugural class.

National pharmacy schoolbeginsenrollmentto impact Gatton, which sees its first

•

Enrollment drops almost 18% over past two years, from 315 in 2019 to 281 in 2020 to 259 in 2021

•

legislators, President Noland, and Dean Debbie Byrd discuss the prospect of receiving state funding for Gatton with Tennessee Higher Education Commission, which did a follow-up study citing:

“...a significant difference in the cost of the pharmacy programs at UTHSC and ETSU" and said the difference "leads to large gaps in the average student loan debt by students.”

Some of ETSU's “prospective pharmacy students are regionally bound—potentially unwilling or unable to travel to Memphis...”

CLOSING THE GAP

College honors Class of 2022

The Class of 2022 at Gatton received their doctoral hoods, officially becoming part of the college’s 13th graduatingTheclass.Hooding

and Commencement ceremony was held on Friday, May 6, in the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts, where 73 student pharmacists earned their Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

This ceremony was part of ETSU’s commencement weekend and was livestreamed for those unable to attend. Scan the QR code above to watch.

Dr. Debbie Byrd, Dean of Gatton College of Pharmacy, thanked the graduating class for the mark they left on the “Wecollege.aresopleased

you chose to go on the journey to become a pharmacist with us,” said Byrd. “You made this college your own, and you are leaving it a better college of pharmacy than the one you found.”

Byrd also praised the graduates for their impact on the COVID-19 pandemic, as they helped vaccinate over 30,000 patients. In addition, she commended them for their success in research and leadership, as well as for the multiple national honors earned by Gatton’s student organizations.

Speakers included Dr. Brian Noland, ETSU President; Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkle, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academics; and Dr. Justin Pearson (’22), from Maryville, who spoke on behalf of the graduating class, telling his fellow graduates they would not just earn their PharmD at the ceremony.

“We will walk away with relationships and memories that last forever,” said Pearson. “… The four years together have made us so close that you could call it ‘family.’”

Jacquelyn Crawford was inducted into the ETSU 1911 Society, which honors the university’s most distinguished graduates who embody ETSU’s original mission of improving the quality of life for people of this region as exemplified through academic excellence, service, and leadership.

In addition to the doctoral hooding, several individual awards were presented, including academic awards to Nichalos Jarvis and Crystal Meadors, who earned the Pharmacy Valedictorian Achievement Award recognizing the highest-ranking student in the graduating class. They achieved perfect 4.0 grade point averages.

Other awards included: the Gatton College of Pharmacy Patient Care Award to Kathleen White; the Gary Mabrey Community Service Award to Jacquelyn Crawford; the Merck Award for Pharmacy Excellence to Kristen Friend and Abby Lopp; the Viatris Institute of Pharmacy Excellence in Pharmacy Award to Crystal Meadors; United States Public Health Services Excellence in Pharmacy Award to Kathleen White; the Wolters Kluwer Health’s Fact and Comparisons Award for Outstanding Communication Skills to Nichalos Jarvis; the Baeteena M. Black Leadership Award to Jonathan Brewster; and the Guy B. Wilson Jr. Leadership Award to Kaitlyn Phillips.

The ceremony and reception were sponsored by Food City.

ETSU pharmacy school, which was later named in his honor.

It would be impossible to count the number of lives that have been touched by Mr. Gatton. We are forever grateful for all he has done for our students, this university, and our region. ETSU is honored to carry his name and his legacy.

Remembering Mr. Bill Gatton

One of the Appalachian Highlands' most respected leaders and benefactors passed away on April 18, 2022, in Bristol, Tennessee.

As a champion for ETSU, Mr. Gatton shared the university’s vision that our efforts should improve the

quality of life for the people of this region. In 2005, Mr. Gatton saw the need for a pharmacy school in East Tennessee. He did not want to see men and women have to leave this region in order to receive a pharmacy education. To show his support, Mr. Gatton donated $3.8 million to the

Pharmacy, reflects on Mr. Gatton’s legacy:

To say I was a bit intimidated when I first met Bill Gatton would be an understatement. We were meeting in his Bristol office to discuss his commitment to meet Governor Phil Bredesen’s challenge to start a College of Pharmacy at ETSU. Dr. Ron Franks and I were escorted to his office. The environment was not at all what I expected. “Disheveled” is a word that comes to mind.

On the floor in the corner was a picture of Mr. Gatton and President Ronald Reagan, while prominently displayed on his desk was a handwritten thank-you note from what appeared to be a child. In the opposite corner was a large stack of trash bags. He was quick to point out that the bags did not have trash in them. They were filled with handmade dolls destined for Christmas presents for children in a rural East Tennessee elementary school.

I mention this story to make an important point. While Mr. Gatton gave MILLIONS of dollars to support worthwhile causes — education

Dr. Larry GattonFoundingCalhoun,DeanofCollegeof

in particular — we will never know the magnitude and depth of his generosity for meeting unmet needs in our community.

I was blessed to be able to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Mr. Gatton. He was quick to realize that I was a sports fan. He invited me to accompany him to a number of

I feel it gave him true pleasure to see his investment making a difference in the lives of young people. He enjoyed each time he was able to get in front of students and ‘tell stories.’

He always left them with a challenge: ‘Give back when you can.’

students. I especially enjoyed the time he shared this information with the president of the University of Kentucky.

I could fill pages upon pages with “Bill Gatton stories”— golf games with Guy Wilson and Newt Raff that ended in the exchange of $1 bills on the 18th green; invitations to his dealership for what I thought was just a conversation, only to learn that he had a large check to give me for the college; and long conversations on the back roads of Kentucky in the rain, just to name a few. However, I must point out that he always wanted to hear of the accomplishments of the “Gatton students.” He was so proud of the awards and recognitions they received. I feel it gave him true pleasure to see his investment making a difference in the lives of young people. He enjoyed each time he was able to get in front of students and “tell stories.” He always left them with a challenge: “Give back when you can.”

Kentucky basketball games. We would drive through the mountains to Lexington to Rupp Arena. Being the single largest donor to the University of Kentucky, he had great seats (the governor sat behind us). Mr. Gatton was very proud of Gatton College of Pharmacy. He was never shy in telling the story of how the college was started, our historic facilities, and most importantly the success of our

I will end with my most memorable interaction with Mr. Gatton. I mentioned the many trips to Lexington where he would introduce me to UK dignitaries and talk about Gatton College of Pharmacy. On the last trip I made with him, he was introducing me to one of those individuals and he didn’t say, “This is Larry Calhoun, the Founding Dean of Gatton College of Rather,Pharmacy.”hesaid, “This is my friend Larry.”

Many will miss you, Mr. Gatton.

Dr. Calhoun’s reflections originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of ETSU Today.

Dr. Larry FoundingCalhounDean,Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy

Gatton earns top pharmacy award for service

region, collecting nearly 30,000 pounds of unused, expired, or unwanted medications.



Served nearly 3,000 patients at Remote Area Medical (RAM) in Gray, Tennessee, since 2017.

 Distributed over 10,000 naloxone kits through RAM clinics and reached more than 15,000 youth in the past decade through education regarding naloxone, stimulant misuse, and prescription drug misuse.

Gatton College of Pharmacy earned a top national award for service to the community, part of its continuing mission to serve the rural and underserved in the Appalachian Highlands.

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) presented ETSU the Lawrence C. Weaver Transformative Community Service Award at the annual AACP meeting held in Grapevine, Texas, in July.

The award is presented annually to one college or school of pharmacy across the United States demonstrating a major institutional commitment to addressing unmet community needs through education, practice, and research. AACP is the national organization representing the interests of pharmacy education. The award consists of a commemorative sculpture honoring the institution’s extraordinary social commitment and a $5,000 honorarium.

“This is a tremendous honor to join the ranks of elite pharmacy schools across the country that have earned this award for service,” said Dean Debbie Byrd. “Our student pharmacists and faculty serve our community and make a positive impact year-round on patients in some of the most rural and underserved areas of the Appalachian Highlands. I’m proud that our service-oriented college —

which has only been in existence since 2005 — has become a nationally recognized presence. I am excited to see where we grow from here.”

Highlights of Gatton College of Pharmacy’s service impact:

 50% of the college’s practice sites serve rural and/or underserved populations.

 97% of fourth-year students in 2019-2020 completed at least one rural and/or underserved experience.

 Helped administer more than 30,000 COVID-19 doses since December 2020.

 Worked with local law enforcement since 2008, helping set up medication Take Back operations in counties across the

 Connected more than 550 student pharmacists with 150 older adult residents through 4,600 service hours at Abundant Christian Living Community.

 Administered the largest and only multi-state, multi-network Flip the Pharmacy team since 2019, designed to transform community pharmacies from traditional point-intime, prescription-level care processes to outcomes-based, patient-level care models.

 Partnered with local clinics and organizations where students serve and assisted in providing needed care and services for people in our region.

“I’d like to thank all of our community partners for their support and for the opportunity to work with them to serve the community,” said Byrd. “Together we have made a huge impact.”

Center for Pharmacy Education, Advocacy and Outreach

Center made possible thanks to gift from Ballad Health

Gatton College of Pharmacy and Ballad Health are establishing a new center to improve the lives and health outcomes of people in the Appalachian Highlands.

Ballad Health has committed a $470,000 annual gift to the college to create the Center for Pharmacy Education, Advocacy and Outreach, which will broaden efforts to help better equip pharmacists to transform practice and to work with patient care team members across inpatient and outpatient settings to improve transitions of care on hospital admission, discharge, and overall health outcomes.

“ETSU and Ballad Health share a long-standing commitment to improving the quality of life for the people of the Appalachian Highlands, and this is the focus of the Center,” said ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland. “We are grateful for Ballad’s support and for the opportunities to enhance the educational experience for our clinical students whose impact to the region will be profound.”

“Ballad Health is committed to the multitude of partnerships we have developed with ETSU in pursuit of the best clinical experience for training tomorrow’s health care workforce,” said Ballad Health Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alan Levine. “We remain grateful to all those who have worked so hard to develop and sustain the Gatton College of Pharmacy. This partnership is critical to ensuring our region leads in the development and use of the most effective treatments for our patients.”

Through the new center, ETSU and Ballad Health will work to develop simulation and laboratory education offerings and collaborate to develop and enhance curricula that include training in addiction, mental health, and clinical transitions. It also will focus on preceptor development and developing training experiences for student pharmacists.

“Working alongside seasoned professionals in the field creates an invaluable educational experience for students, and we’re grateful that we can provide that practice and build relationships early on,” said Dr. Matthew Loos, Ballad Health’s Chief Academic Officer. “Once students graduate and start working in pharmacy care on their own, they fall back on their training and studies, so we want to do everything we can to bolster that early understanding and proficiency, so they’re better served in the future.”

The center will be a catalyst for developing policy recommendations at the local, regional, state, and national levels in the areas of addiction and mental health, which are pressing concerns in rural America. It will work

toward developing an annual conference in the region to address the latest in research and solutions to health care challenges and will collaborate on professional development and continuing education offerings.

The idea for the center grew from a series of conversations between pharmacy leadership at Ballad Health and Dr. Debbie Byrd, Dean of Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. They recognized that there were opportunities in the way students are trained and in the way that ETSU faculty are integrated into the inpatient work environment.

“The center will help us to continue to strengthen pharmacists’ important role in the delivery of health care within the hospitals, during transition of care and in the communities,” said Byrd. “Our faculty will dedicate time to serve as integrated clinical specialists within Ballad facilities, and Ballad will provide preceptor availability and targeted experiential instruction for our student pharmacists. It is a win-win for these future pharmacists and for the patients they will serve.”

ETSU’s long-time commitment to interprofessional education and team-based care, as well as Gatton College of Pharmacy’s award-winning student programs focusing on naloxone training and community outreach, provide a foundation for the center’s efforts on preparing pharmacists for the critical role in interprofessional teams that care for patients with chronic pain, opioid use disorder, and mental health disorders.

“ETSU is proud to partner with Ballad Health to take this innovative approach to training future pharmacists,” said Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkle, ETSU Provost and Senior Vice President for Academics. “Our emphasis on interprofessional education and our history of developing progressive, team-oriented pharmacists create a strong framework for the center to build upon in order to meet its goals of education, advocacy, and outreach.”

Faculty news

Katelyn Alexander, Director PracticeProfessor,Education,ExperientialofAssociatePharmacy

Dr. Alexander earned the “Emerging Leader in Interprofessional Education” from the ETSU Academic Health Sciences Center “in recognition of her visionary leadership, perseverant spirit, and steadfast support of IPE programming.”

John Bossaer, Professor, Pharmacy Practice

Dr. Bossaer earned an forDevelopmentInstructionalgrant$3,000tofund

the rising P3 class’s access to a simulated Electronic Health Record (EHR) for the next academic year.

Stacy Brown, Interim Chair, SciencesPharmaceuticalProfessor,

Dr. co-authoredBrown an article with Dr. Puri and students in the Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry on the “Development and Validation of a Liquid

birth control in Appalachia and the southern U.S.

She earned the college Faculty Research Award.

In addition, she and Dr. Nick Hagemeier presented “A Qualitative Study of Community Pharmacist Engagement in HIV/HCV Prevention Services in Central Appalachia” at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in October 2021.

Emily Flores, Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice

Dr. Flores’ poster, “Growing andEngagementCommunityAligning

Curriculum,” won at the Tennessee Interprofessional Practice and Education Consortium (TIPEC).

In addition, she earned the college Faculty Service Award.

Jeff Gray, Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice

At the 2022 ETSU Summit wonCeremony,AwardsDr.Graythe2021Jan

Phillips Mentor Award. It is awarded each year to a student mentor who guides the personal and professional development of student leaders.

He co-authored a publication in the Journal of Opioid Management in 2022 about “Primary Care Physicians Opioid-Related Prevention Behaviors and Intentions: A Descriptive Analysis.”

Rick Hess, Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice

Dr. Hess serves as the forrepresentativefacultytheChristian

Pharmacists Fellowship International (CPFI) chapter, which earned a $500 Hands and Feet grant that helped them create care packages for women in the community.

In addition, he served as coauthor of presentations in 2022 regarding “Serving Unexpectant Mothers Through Pharmacy” (CPFI Annual Conference and National Student Retreat) and “Cost Related Suboptimal Insulin Underuse in Rural Appalachia” (Appalachian Student Research Forum).

Highsmith,McKenzie

Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice Dr. BoardbecameHighsmiththe2022Chairofthe

Johnson City Chamber of Commerce, serving Johnson City, Jonesborough, and Washington County.

David Hurley, SciencesPharmaceuticalProfessor,

Jessica Burchette, Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice

Dr. Burchette earned the college Faculty Teaching Award.

KariLynn DowlingMcClay, PracticeProfessor,AssistantPharmacy

Dr. McClayDowling-received an $11,998 Research Development Committee grant to study contraceptionpharmacist-prescribed(PPC)asameans of filling the gap in regional access to

Nick Hagemeier, Vice Provost for Research and Chief Research Officer at ETSU, PracticeProfessor,AssociatePharmacy

Dr. andHagemeier Dr. Michelle Rapier, First“AnFellow,PracticePharmacyResearchpresentedAnalysisofProfessional

Year Pharmacy Students’ Wellbeing Priorities and Perceptions” at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting in July 2021.

Dr. Hurley (PI), along with Dr. Sarah Melton (Co-Inv,), received a $12,000 research grant from the ETSU Research Development Committee (RDC) for “Expanding Individualized Pharmacogenomics Training to Clinical Applications: Creating Problem-Solving Exercises Using PharmD Student Data.”

In addition, he assisted student pharmacists at the Appalachian Student Research Forum with presentations: “Expression of ZNF292 Linear and Circular RNAs in Rat MtT Pituitary Cell Lines is Related to Somatotroph Differentiation” and “Linear and Circular Human ZNF292 RNAs Decrease after Anti-Cancer Treatment of HCT116 Colorectal Cancer Cells.”

Drs. Hurley and Sam Harirforoosh, Professor apharmacistswithSciences,PharmaceuticalofworkedstudentandPh.D.student

on “Type 2 Diabetes: An Exploratory Genetic Association Analysis of Selected Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters and Effects on Cardiovascular and Renal Biomarkers” in the journal Drug Metabolism and Personalized Therapy.”

Sarah Melton, Vice Chair and PharmacyProfessor,Practice

Dr. Melton was appointed by former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to the Board of Health Professions. In September she was also appointed to the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority.

Dr. Melton completed the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s (AACP) 2020-21 Academic Leadership Fellows Program. She was part of the 17th cohort of individuals who represent some of academic pharmacy’s brightest future leaders from around the country. The program supports and contributes to the development of leaders in academic pharmacy and higher education. In addition, the program provides an opportunity for Fellows to expand relationships with peers and colleagues at other institutions, as well as within their own college and university.

Kathy Mueller, Director PharmacyAssistantAdmissions,ofProfessor,Practice

Dr. Mueller is serving as the Director of Admissions in the Office of Student Affairs.

On February 18, 2022, the Gary E. Shealy Memorial ALS Clinic celebrated its fifth anniversary. Dr. Mueller has served as a clinical pharmacist on an interprofessional team at the clinic since it began.

Ashana Puri, Assistant SciencesPharmaceuticalProfessor,

Dr. Puri received an Interdisciplinary RDC grant worth $50,000 for the development of a novel skin patch of naloxone for emergency treatment of opioid overdose.

In addition, she earned a Major RDC grant for $12,000 for development of a 3-day transdermal patch of baclofen, an alternative delivery system for muscle spasticity treatment, as well as an Instructional Development RDC grant worth $4,660 for Demo Dose® Simulated Medications: A valuable tool to enhance student learning of drug delivery systems.

Dr. Puri published seven articles and had 11 research presentations involving participation of eight student pharmacists.

David Roane, SciencesPharmaceuticalProfessor,

At a wasretreat,curriculumDr.Roanehonoredwith

a rocking chair for his service as Founding Chair and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences since 2006. During his tenure as Department Chair, he made numerous and impactful contributions to the department and college.

Jessica Robinson, Assistant PharmacyProfessor,Practice

Drs. RobinsonJessica(’17) and Mallory Tucker (’19) are featured in NCPA’s America’s Pharmacist June edition that focuses on Atchley Drug Center.

David Stewart, Interim Associate Dean, Assessment, & Academic Affairs, Professor, Pharmacy Practice

Dr. Stewart is serving as the new Interim Associate Dean for Assessment and Academic Affairs.

Stewart was interviewed by alum Dr. Sean Smithgall (’14) on The Post-Graduate Pharmacist podcast about preparing applicants for virtual Midyear. Stewart serves as Residency Program Training Coordinator for Pharmacy Practice, as well as Director of the PGY2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency Program.

Adam Welch, Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice

Dr. Welch published an article in the Pharmacy Times, “Applying an Error Prevention Process to a COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic.”

After over six years leading the Office of Academic Affairs, Welch stepped down at the end of 2021 to return to faculty as a tenured Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice. He will focus his efforts on COVID-19 vaccine outreach, as well as research, scholarship, and teaching.

Postgraduate

Postgraduate Year 2 residents Dr. Brittney Bright, of Knoxville, and Dr. Payton Tipton, of Jonesborough, graduated in June. In addition, Dr. Bright passed her BCPS exam.

The college welcomes Dr. Dawnna Metcalfe (’21) as its PGY2 Ambulatory Care resident.

New staff

The college welcomes new staff:

• Melanie Peters, Office Coordinator, Pharmacy Practice

• Julina Pyanoe, Assistant Director, Experiential Operations

• Sandra Talford, Experiential Coordinator

ETSU Family Medicine faculty honored

Department of Pharmacy Practice faculty Drs. McKenzie Highsmith, Ryan Tewell, and Brandi Dahl were featured in the Tennessee Pharmacists Association’s Tennessee Pharmacist journal for their work at ETSU Family Medicine.

Fall risk is a major cause of injury and death for older patients. Traditionally, a pharmacist’s role in lowering that risk has been unknown – until now.

Since pharmacists play a major role in managing patients’ drug interactions, faculty and staff from Gatton and the College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences (CCRHS) teamed up to explore how pharmacists can help decrease fall risk for older patients by assessing medications and patient characteristics such as height, weight, and gender.

This specific research aim was part of a larger, ofinterprofessionalmulti-focusedresearchgrantover$45,000,sponsoredby

Research explores pharmacists’ role in decreasing fall risk

the ETSU Research Development Committee and awarded to Dr. Courtney Hall, Professor in the Physical Therapy program in CCRHS. She recently led a multidisciplinary effort to update the clinical practice guidelines for the field of vestibular rehabilitation.

The present research focus and publication are the results of efforts of the late Dr. Brian Odle, an associate professor of Pharmacy Practice at Gatton.

“Dr. Odle presented the idea that pharmacists are unique in assessing drug-associated fall risk in the clinical setting due to their professional education and location within the current health care system,” said Dr. Peter Panus, Professor Emeritus of Pharmaceutical Sciences, who served as a co-author on the research.

Panus’ hope for the research is that it will ultimately help patients because of more interprofessional collaboration on fall risk studies.

“Fall risk is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in all health care and community settings,” said Panus. “Pharmacists, in assessing fall risk, will only increase the discussion

Grant supports ESL program

Enhancing diversity is important to the college, and a state grant has helped accelerate those efforts.

For two years in a row, the Tennessee Board of Regents has awarded Gatton College of Pharmacy a total of nearly $100,000 to support a grant-funded ESL support program called Promoting Engagement, Excellence, and Retention for English as a Second Language Students program (PEER-E2). This program helps support specialized ESL pharmacy tutors, a weekly language lab facilitated by an ESL instructor, a peer support group, culture and language exchange events, focused recruiting of ESL students into the pharmacy program including a recruitment trip to Puerto Rico, and attending the Tennessee Society of Student Pharmacists (TSSP) Annual Meeting in February 2023.

and collaboration by health care professionals in the future.”

Because Odle came up with the idea for the research, his name was given to the measurement the researchers used: The Odle Drug-Associated Fall Risk (ODAFR) scale, a 5-point Likert scale developed by Drs. Sam Karpen and Panus to assist the pharmacists in assessing each drug’s fall risk. The ODAFR scale will require additional research prior to consideration as a clinical tool.

Panus served as the primary and corresponding author on the publication resulting from this interprofessional research effort. Co-authors on the publication included Dr. Kelly Covert, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy; Odle; Karpen, who previously served as Director of Assessment at Gatton; and Dr. Zachary Walls, who previously served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. In addition to being the grant awardee, Hall also was the senior author on the publication.

Read the publicationfullat

Faculty, staff, and Puerto Rican-born student pharmacists met with prospective student pharmacists and learned more about potential rotation sites.

Melton earns ETSU Distinguished Faculty Award

The 2021 ETSU Distinguished Faculty Award in Service was presented to Dr. Sarah Melton, Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Gatton.

Melton is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, where she earned her B.S. in pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees. She also completed a clinical fellowship in psychiatric pharmacy practice.

“Dr. Melton’s service to her patients and community is driven by a tireless desire to see a decrease in stigma associated with mental illness and the disease of addiction. Increasing awareness, improving access to treatment, and providing education about these illnesses has been her career priority,” writes one nominator.

She joined Gatton faculty in 2012 and has been a champion for naloxone education and distribution at the local, state, and regional levels. Melton serves as faculty advisor for the national awardwinning American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student

Pharmacists Substance Use Disorders committee. She is also the faculty advisor for the student chapter of the College of Neurologic and Psychiatric Pharmacy.

Melton’s efforts have been recognized on the state and local levels. She was recently one of five faculty and staff members in the state to be awarded the prestigious 2021 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

Melton has served on the University Task Force on Community Engagement, the University Wellness Committee, the ETSU Prescription Drug Abuse/Misuse Working Group, and the Mental Health and Addiction Work Group. She has been a dedicated mentor to student pharmacists and devotes a significant amount of time assisting students in academic difficulty or having psychosocial issues impacting their performance as student pharmacists.

Hagemeier named Vice Provost for Research

He joined the ETSU community in 2011 as a faculty member at Gatton where he is a tenured Associate Professor and has served as Vice Chair in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Director of Student Professional Development, and Director of ETSU’s Pharmacy Practice Research Fellowship.

Throughout his career, he has been awarded nearly $2.5 million in research funding, has published 49 peer-reviewed manuscripts, seven book chapters, and has presented opioid- and wellbeing-related research nationally. He was appointed to the U.S. Health and Human Services Pain Management Best Practices Interagency Task Force in 2018. In addition to graduating from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Academic Leadership Fellows Program, he has served AACP in multiple leadership roles.

At ETSU, Hagemeier was selected as an EAB Rising Higher Education Leaders Fellow (2021) and Presidential Fellow (2020). He has served on the Faculty Senate, Faculty Senate Executive Committee, the President’s Strategic Research Planning Group, and the Quality Enhancement Plan Development Committee. He chaired the University’s Working Group on Research and Innovation in 2019 and was Staff Lead for the 125 Chapter 2 Research and Scholarship Task Force.

Dr. Nick Hagemeier has been named Vice Provost for Research after serving in the interim role since July 2021.

Making an impact

Two spring Gatton College of Pharmacy graduates not only enjoyed travel to “The Last Frontier” but also made a valuable impact on the health care of Alaska Native and Native American people nationwide during a rotation there last McKaylasemester.Barker

and Crystal Meadors hoped to travel to Ireland for a rotation as fourth-year student pharmacists, but COVID-19 changed their plans. Looking at other options, they were intrigued by opportunities presented by the Indian Health Service (IHS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Through the IHS, the two spent most of the month of January on rotation at the Ethel Lund Medical Center (ELMC) in Juneau, Alaska, part of the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC).

“I liked that they work with different groups of people we don’t typically see in our population here in Tennessee, like Eskimos, Native Alaskans, and the Indian population, and just seeing how they help those groups of people in ways that I knew nothing about,” said Meadors, a native

of Murfreesboro who earned her B.S. in chemistry at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee.

“I wanted to get the most out of my fourth year, and going to Alaska and working with the IHS is an opportunity I didn’t think I would have again,” added Barker, a Kingsport resident who studied pre-pharmacy at Lee University and transferred to Gatton College of Pharmacy, completing her undergraduate degree while working toward her Pharm.D. “I also liked that Alaska is very rural. I did research in rural health care in undergrad, and that’s a big focus of Gatton, as well.”

At ELMC, Barker and Meadors provided such services as comprehensive medication reviews and counseling patients on the use of medications that help prevent blood

Barkerclots.explained

that while the experience they gained at ELMC was largely outpatient-based, as with a typical community pharmacy, the clinic’s unique approach presented more services generally offered within inpatient settings. “It was outpatient, but we had inpatient

Gatton P4s created COVID-19 medication flowchart shared at IHS sites throughout country

During their time on rotation at the Ethel Lund Medical Center in Juneau, Alaska, McKayla Barker and Crystal Meadors enjoyed not only working with patients in the pharmacy, but also spending time outdoors, including hiking the Mendenhall Glacier, visiting downtown Juneau, and more.

information and could do a little extra, which was great for students,” she said. “We were able to run the anticoagulation clinic and counsel every single day. We worked with a dietitian one day. We were able to do more than you typically see at a community pharmacy.”

During their time at ELMC, numerous new COVID-19 medications had just been made available. Barker and Meadors were given a chance to help the physicians, nurse practitioners, and other providers at the clinic make sense of all the new options by developing a prescribing flowchart focused on medications for the Omicron variant.

“Some of the medications were complicated, so we wanted to help providers know how to prescribe them based on different patient characteristics,” Meadors said. “We looked at factors like ages, weights, how long symptoms had been present, pregnancy status, renal and hepatic function, and developed the flowchart.”

“It walked providers through all these new antivirals that nobody really knew anything about at that time,” Barker added. “They were still learning how to prescribe them.”

The two received numerous commendations for their work from the leadership of not only the SEARHC, but also the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, which is the largest Tribal Health Organization (THO) in the state. Their flowchart was distributed to all THO pharmacy managers and medical directors in Alaska. It was also shared with the IHS email listserv so that IHS sites throughout the United States could use it.

This reception to their work made Barker and Meadors quite proud.

“I was super-excited we could actually make an impact like that as pharmacy students,” said Meadors, who is currently in a community-based residency at University of Louisville Health in Kentucky, after which she hopes to find work at a specialty pharmacy in Middle Tennessee. “As a student, you’re learning the whole time and don’t always feel like what you’re doing makes an impact. But to see that we could do that before we were pharmacists was a really cool feeling.”

Check out our new podcast, White Coat Radio!

The podcast provides listeners with helpful advice, stories, and insights from the faculty, staff, and student pharmacists at East Tennessee State University Gatton College of Pharmacy in Johnson City, Tennessee. Hosts Dr. Michele Williams and Dan VanZant lead this informative and entertaining podcast, with new episodes appearing monthly. Find wherever you listen to podcasts.

Scan to Listen:

Photos courtesy of McKayla Barker and Crystal Meadors.

Building a pipeline

Early Admission Pathway gives

Olivia Long knew when she was in eighth grade that she wanted to be a pharmacist. She later found a way to get a jump on that career through the Early Admission Pathway at ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy.

Through this arrangement, the Mount Juliet native is concurrently working toward her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy studies and her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. The idea of pharmacy was first suggested to Long by her mother, who is a nurse, and she followed up by investigating the career in her high school classes and attending a summer camp at Gatton College of Pharmacy two years ago.

“Since I knew that I wanted to do pharmacy for such a long time, it was really nice to be able to go into the career earlier. It saved me a lot of time and money in the long run, and I’ll be able to start doing what I really am passionate about earlier,” she

Thesaid.college’s

Early Admission Pathway was implemented three years ago to provide a direct route to pharmacy school for individuals just like Long. It allows students who know they want to become pharmacists to apply as high school students for admission to Gatton College of Pharmacy. The Early PathwayAdmissionisalso open to first-year freshmen at ETSU who wish to go ahead and secure a spot at Gatton College of Pharmacy.

“They don’t have that anxiety of ‘Can I make the cut?’ ‘Will I be good enough?’ It removes that so they can actually focus on school,” said Steve Ellis, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs for Gatton. “It also provides an opportunity for them to work with us while they’re freshmen and sophomores, to help them prepare and develop more experience for when they actually enter the pharmacy school.”

The student benefits because they’re interacting with the college, but likewise, we benefit because it gives us a chance to know the students and help them prepare.

Steve AssistantEllis,Dean of Student Affairs for Gatton

us a chance to know the students and help them prepare.”

The Early Admission Pathway also gives the college a greater chance to attract students from across the state of “StudentsTennessee.arelooking at us from across the state and, indeed, from across the country,” Ellis said. “With the Early Admission Pathway, because we are part of East Tennessee State University, it really does give us a chance to attract students from the middle part of the state, from the western part of the state. They can look at ETSU for an undergraduate degree and also get in the College of Pharmacy for their pharmacy experience.

“In some respects, it’s a ‘one stop shop’ for the students who choose to come here. We have a nice recruiting package. This program is obviously still new, but our first few enrollees have come from other parts of the state.”

Gatton is one of only a few pharmacy schools that currently offer early admission programs, which, Ellis says, gives ETSU’s pharmacy school an advantage in the recruiting process.

“It allows us to build a pipeline and to have some sense of the students who are going to be coming along in a couple of years,” he said. “The student benefits because they’re interacting with the college, but likewise, we benefit because it gives

For Long, ETSU’s pharmacy program is a great fit. “I’m around others who have similar interests to me. It’s been very beneficial in that way.”

“I like the medical field a lot. I really enjoy being able to help people and serve the community. I have looked into other medical professions and none of them have fit my personality as well as pharmacy has. I really enjoy being able to speak with patients on such a personal level.”

Learn more etsu.edu/RxEarlyAdmit.at

STUDENT IMPACT

Partnering with law enforcement, student pharmacists and faculty participated in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day in May, which aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible way for the public to dispose of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

American Pharmacists AssociationAcademy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) served at the Quillen 100 bicycle race/health fair with a booth that offered services and information about their patient care operations, conducted blood sugar and blood pressure readings, provided educational activities with children, as well as conveying women’s health and substance use disorder information.

Christian FellowshipPharmacistsInternational (CPFI) earned a $500 Hands and Feet grant, which they used to create care packages in conjunction with Agape Women's Services in Johnson City to help expectant mothers through the process of pregnancy and early motherhood.

College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP), SNPhA, and APhA Operation Substance Use Disorder together helped collect items like laundry detergent bottles, flip-top plastic containers, coffee creamer containers, and plastic orange juice containers for the ETSU Infectious Diseases Clinic, as well as accepting donations for the Syringe Trade and Education Program.

Phi Delta Chi raised over $500 to give to children at Niswonger Children’s Hospital and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Phi Lambda Sigma helped support developing countries with nearly $500 raised to improve access to clean water by hosting an event called Walk for Water, designed to simulate the hardships that people in developing countries face in order to get clean water. Participants walked 1.5 miles to a midpoint on the Tweetsie Trail, retrieved one gallon of water, then walked back, totaling three miles.

Student National Pharmaceutical Organization (SNPhA) worked with the Safe Alliance at the Appalachian Fair to reach over 2,200 people, educating and distributing medication lock boxes to individuals in the community who needed them. They educated attendees about the proper way to dispose of their medications, safe storage practices, as well as information on upcoming drug take-back days.

National honor for drug misuse education

Gatton’s APhA-ASP chapter also has earned many national honors over the years.

APhA-ASP Generation Rx transitioned to its new name, Operation SUD, in 2021 through a collaboration with Walmart Inc. to expand the breadth and depth of this important initiative.

The college’s American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists Operation Substance Use Disorders (SUD) committee (formerly Generation Rx) was national first runner-up for the APhA-ASP Operation Substance Use Disorders Chapter Achievement Award in 2020-21.

This is the ninth consecutive year that the chapter has been recognized either nationally or regionally, and it has been named the national winner four times in the category. Overall, the chapter has earned first or second runner-up or winner eight times and is the most nationally recognized SUD committee in the country.

The student pharmacists faced many challenges because of COVID-19 during the year they were judged for the award, primarily because their curriculum was online during this time. It also inspired creativity, like converting their typically in-person presentations to an online format to be able to demonstrate administering naloxone, a lifesaving overdose-reversing medication.

Highlights from their 2020-21 academic year include: collaborating with the ETSU Child and Family Health Institute to present naloxone training in its Collaborative Series; training students at the Cora Cox Academy alternative school in Kingsport to use naloxone; training 139 Science Hill High School students in the use of naloxone; giving 10 Remote Area Medical presentations; educating more than 900 individuals at events; presenting to over 550 individuals; and reaching over 2,700 individuals through public relations.

ACCP competition honors

Both of Gatton's American College of Clinical Pharmacy Clinical Pharmacy Challenge and Clinical Research Challenge teams were finalists in their respective national competitions, leading the Top 8 teams in the country. This is the first time that both teams made it to the finalist stage in the same year.

Dr. Kelly Covert, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, served as

coach of the college’s Clinical Pharmacy Challenge team, which included Kaitlyn Phillips ('22), Morgan Thomas ('23), and Gabe Thompson ('22). This competition is a “quiz bowl” format held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consists of questions offered in three segments including trivia, clinical case and Jeopardystyle, the content of which was developed and reviewed by an

expert panel of clinical pharmacy practitioners and educators.

Dr. David Cluck, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, led the Clinical Research Challenge team with P2s Kellee Geren, Nathan Smith, and Bryce Sutton. This competition offers teams of three student pharmacists the opportunity to participate in an online journal club, as well as to submit a letter of intent and a clinical research proposal.

From L-R: Clinical Pharmacy Challenge team included: Dr. Kelly Covert, Kaitlyn Phillips (’22), Morgan Thomas (’23), and Gabe Thompson (’22), along with alternates Jacquelyn Crawford (’22) and Dakota Rorie (’23).

Alumna helps save a life through blood stem cell donation

As a pharmacist, alumna Dr. Brooke Stayer’s (’10) passion is to help patients, but when she recently served as a blood stem cell donor, she felt she was able to help a patient in a completely new way. Stayer serves as the Assistant Director of Pharmacy Services and PGY1 Residency Program Director at Holston Valley Medical Center.

What led you to make the donation?

Stayer: I registered with Be The Match in 2009 during a drive at GCOP and received a call in December 2021 that I was a match for a man with myelodysplastic syndrome. I was asked to consider peripheral blood stem cell donation. The recipient was unknown to me, but I felt an instant connection and desire to help.

Can you describe the process?

Stayer: I had to undergo an extensive medical questionnaire, physical examination, and lab work-up to

ensure I was healthy enough to donate and ensure I had no risk of transmitting a communicable disease to the recipient. This process was done via the phone with a Be The Match representative and locally in Johnson City. Once I was medically cleared, the representative worked on securing a date and location for the donation, which ended up being the first week of January in Houston, Texas. I began daily filgrastim injections four days prior to my scheduled donation day, flew out the day prior, donated, and flew back home the following day. The actual donation took place via aphaeresis, which took eight hours. All expenses were paid or reimbursed by Be The Match for me and one companion.

How did you feel after you made the Stayer:donation?

Physically, tired; mentally, a sense of relief and accomplishment and hope.

How did this process connect with what you do as a pharmacist helping patients?

Stayer: It was nice to be able to help someone in a way I never could as a pharmacist. I find myself calling the recipient a patient, even though he isn’t my patient. I feel the same type of relationship with him as I do my actual patients because he could easily be one of them.

Anything else you want to add?

Stayer: I encourage anyone who is able to register with Be The Match. It has been an extremely rewarding experience. If anyone wants more information about my experience, I am happy to share more.

Readers may email Dr. Stayer

Class notes

Class of 2010

Melissa McCall was among three Food City nominees named the “Top Women in Grocery” by Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery program, which recognizes the important role that women play in the food and grocery industry. McCall supervises pharmacy operations for 43 stores in Food City’s Tri-City operating division.

Class of 2011

We celebrated the Class of 2011 reunion in November 2021. It included dinner, tours of our buildings, tailgating at homecoming, and the ETSU football game.

Class of 2012

Tyler Melton earned University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy's Excellence in Teaching Award. He serves as Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science on the Knoxville campus.

Class of 2014

Sean Smithgall earned a promotion to Associate Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy.

Chancey Carothers, a critical thewasMedicalOrlandospecialistmedicinecarepharmacyatRegionalCenter,featuredon Pharm So Hard podcast to discuss the role he plays in the hospital, the patient populations he serves, and residency programs.

Lucy Shell was the keynote speaker at the college’s White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2026. She is the newlyappointed Executive Director of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy. Shell previously served on the Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA) for seven years, including a role as its Director of Pharmacy Practice Initiatives and Interim Executive Director. Shell served as TPA’s primary lobbyist in 2021, which entailed working closely with the Board of Pharmacy, leading grant initiatives, and contributing to publications and training materials for pharmacists and pharmacist technicians.

Class of 2015

Brooke Adams was recently recognized as a member of the Class of 2022 Rising Stars and Emerging Leaders for 40 Under 40 in Cancer. The award initiative is sponsored by The Lynx Group, Upstream Partners, Swim Across America, and the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA). Adams is currently a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at University of Florida Shands Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.

Sara (Odom) Stephens welcomed a new addition to the family, Nora Everleigh Stephens, born on March 24 and weighing 6 lbs. 12 oz., 18.5 inches long. "She is doing great, and we are so grateful to call her ours!" said Stephens.

Scan to Watch Podcast Interview

Classes of 2017 & 2019

Jessica Robinson (’17) and Mallory Tucker (’19) are featured in NCPA's America's Pharmacist June edition that focuses on Atchley Drug Center.

Class of 2020

Lauren (Dickerson) Blackwell and Danielle Eskens presented their PGY2 oncology pharmacy residency research projects at Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) Annual conference in Boston this spring.

Auggie Bui was recently named to the 2022-2023 American Pharmacists Association's New Practitioner Network National Standing Committee

on Communications. In addition, he was featured on the American Pharmacists Association website about his experiences leading to a position as the 2021–22 Executive Fellow for the Michigan Pharmacists Association in Lansing, Michigan.

La’Travia Howard, a clinical pharmacist at UT Medical Center in Knoxville, reflected on her residency experience in the APhA Transitions Magazine.

HAD A BABY RECENTLY?

In Memoriam

Rachel Thomasson (’20)

Dr. Rachel Thomasson (’20), from withtheThomassonbelovedWhileincomplications.inTennessee,Sweetwater,passedawayMarchaftersurgerySheworkedKingsportatCVS.atGatton,shewasbymany.Dr.participatedinGlobalHealthprogramDr.EmilyFlores.In

addition, she served in Kappa Psi as the chapter’s Vice Regent for Philanthropy, spearheading many of their philanthropic activities, like the Angel Tree initiative for Mountain View Elementary School. She attended ETSU as an undergrad and earned her BS in Pharmacy Studies degree at Gatton in 2017.

This year, the college mourned the loss of both a recent alumna and a first-year student pharmacist.

MusungiraLuvango (’25) Student thethethatboards/1ouptCHoonmanyinfamilyindrowning(’25)LuvangopharmacistMusungiradiedinaaccidentJunewhilevisitingandfriendsTexas.Therearetributestohimkudoboard.com/wassharedwithfamilybeforefuneral.

Thank you to our 2021-2022 donors

*Donors from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022

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Janet Banks

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Amanda Blair Carol and

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Courtney Pitre Harold and Anne Poe Brooks and David Pond Anthony Pudlo Ashana Puri Morgan and David PeggyJamesBrendanRandolphRiceRichardsonRiner

Jessica Robinson

Marci Russum

Eric and Lottie Ryans

Jessica Scrudder

Kirsti Shatley

Lucy and Eric Shell

Dillard and Shirlene Sholes

Tabitha Sineath

Mary and Anthony Smallwood

Bobby and Laura Smith

Jeffrey Sondergaard

Brooke Stayer

Noel DavidStensonandHillary Stewart

Barbara Sylvester

James and Dawn Thigpen

Mallory Tucker

Daniel VanZant and Shara

JewellLange and Lynton Vanzant

Tracy Vanzant

Mary and Harry Vick

Peter and Lois Wadewitz

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Mark and Tammy Wininger

Tracy and Robert Wright

East Tennessee State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, master’s, education specialist, and doctoral degrees. Questions about the accreditation of East Tennessee State University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE),135 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 4100 Chicago, IL 60603-4810, 312/664-3575, fax 312/664-4652, website www.acpe-accredit.org. The ACPE accredits Doctor of Pharmacy programs offered by Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy in the United States and selected non-US sites.

East Tennessee State University does not discriminate against students, employees, or applicants for admission or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or any other legally protected class with respect to all employment, programs and activities sponsored by ETSU. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Compliance Coordinator, PO Box 70271, Johnson City, TN 37614, 423-439-8544. ETSU’s policy on non-discrimination can be found at: etsu.edu/universitycounsel/compliance. ETSU is an AA/EEO employer. ETSU-GCP-81-23