Dean to become chair-elect of AACP's Council of Deans

AACP Council of Deans chair-elect David D. Allen

chool of Pharmacy Dean David D. Allen has been selected by his peers as chair-elect of the Council of Deans for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

"I've been involved with AACP for years, and being elected to chair the Council of Deans is a tremendous honor for me," Allen said. "I am very excited about my new role and looking forward to working with the council to positively impact pharmacy education."

Allen will assume full duties of the chair-elect position at the association's annual meeting in July and the chair position in 2014.

"Dean Allen brings a wealth of experience to the AACP leadership table, including an excellent blend of new and established school insights and administrative talent," said Lucinda L. Maine, executive vice president and CEO of AACP.

The national organization represents pharmacy education and is composed of all accredited pharmacy schools and colleges in the United States. Its Council of Deans is responsible for a wide variety of tasks, including identifying and addressing "major issues related to the conduct of professional, post-professional and graduate education, research and service in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences."

Some specific objectives of the council include advocating for the betterment of pharmacy education, informing policymakers on health care and facilitating communication among pharmacy administrators across schools of pharmacy.

Allen has been an active member of AACP since 1996. He has chaired the association's Advocacy Committee, Biological Sciences Section and Student Services Special Interest Group, as well as its Council of Deans' Costs of Experiential Education Task Force.

He serves on AACP's Joint (Council of Deans/Council of Faculty) Task Force on Succeeding in an Era of Declining Federal Support and served on the Council of Deans' Task Force on Health Care Reform's Impact on Pharmacy Education, as well as numerous committees (e.g., Nominations, Professional Affairs, Robert K. Chalmers Award Selection, PCAT Advisory, etc.).

Besides serving as UM pharmacy dean, Allen is a professor of pharmacology and executive director of the university's Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He earned his B.S. in pharmacy and Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Kentucky.