UM's excellence in advising award goes to veteran professor

David J. McCaffrey III, professor of pharmacy administration

avid J. McCaffrey III, professor of pharmacy administration, is the recipient of the university's 2011 Excellence in Advising Award.

The annual award recognizes one faculty member and one staff member for outstanding academic advising and demonstrates the university's commitment to quality advising.

"I became a pharmacist in order to help people," McCaffrey said. "While my career changed from pharmacy practice to academia, my desire to help people did not. Academic advising is a natural extension of what I love doing—interacting with and helping people."

McCaffrey is an academic adviser to more than 100 pre-pharmacy students and is the faculty adviser for the UM chapter of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association. He also is a past president of the UM chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society and chairs the university's Taylor Medal selection committee.

Recipients of the advising award are nominated by members of the university community and are selected based on their availability to advisees, the frequency of their contact with students, evidence of a caring and helpful attitude, and other attributes of an effective adviser.

"Dr. McCaffrey exemplifies everything a student needs in an adviser: warmth, practicality, extensive knowledge about program requirements, excellent communication skills and a passion for helping students," one nomination letter said.

Another letter from a colleague said that McCaffrey strengthens the school's overall advising team.

"He enhances the entire School of Pharmacy advising network by making certain everyone is on the same page and has appropriate knowledge to improve our chance of success in helping each and every student," the letter said. "Basically, he makes our advising lives run much more smoothly."

McCaffrey teaches social and behavioral aspects of pharmacy practice to first-year students. At the graduate level, he teaches primary data techniques. He received the pharmacy school's Faculty Service Award in 2000 and 2010, was named 2010 Teacher of the Year by pharmacy's first-year class and was named a Dean's Advisory Committee Distinguished Teaching Scholar in the spring.