Pharmacy practice professor honored for outreach, volunteerism

May 17, 2013 | News, UToday, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
By Staff



Dr. Ken Alexander, UT professor of pharmacy practice, has received the Ohio Pharmacists Association’s 2013 Bowl of Hygeia award for outstanding service to his community.

Dr. Ken Alexander received the Ohio Pharmacists Association’s 2013 Bowl of Hygeia award for outstanding community service from Cindy Arnett of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Dr. Ken Alexander received the Ohio Pharmacists Association’s 2013 Bowl of Hygeia award for outstanding community service from Cindy Arnett of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Presented at the association’s annual conference last month in Columbus, the Bowl of Hygeia award is sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations with support from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.

“I want to thank the Ohio Pharmacists Association and the nominating committee for selecting me to receive this award and Boehringer Ingelheim for sponsoring the award,” Alexander said. “I was speechless at the presentation ceremony and did not express my gratitude to all present. I would like to take this time to acknowledge all who were responsible in making this happen.”

“It is not out of the ordinary for pharmacists to be active in their communities, but Ken Alexander has clearly shown an unusually strong passion for service outside of his professional responsibilities,” said Ernest Boyd, executive director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association. “His incredible community devotion to Toledo and southeast Michigan is an inspiration to all who know and work with him.”

Alexander’s outreach efforts have touched many in the Toledo and southeast Michigan communities for nearly 40 years.

He has served on the board of directors of his synagogue, B’nai Israel, and the school boards of St. Mary’s Parish in Monroe, Mich., and the Toledo Board of Jewish Education. In 2010, he became master of his local Masonic Lodge in Samaria, Mich., where he has raised funds for several causes.

Alexander is an Eagle Scout and has been active with Boy Scouts of America for more than 20 years. In addition, he has served as a science fair judge for several junior high and high schools, as well as the Southeast Michigan Science Fair.

He and his wife, Karen, have coached softball for various groups for several years. He also has volunteered at the Lucas County Hypertension Clinic and at a local methadone clinic.

Alexander received his pharmacy degrees from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, the University of Rhode Island and The University of Toledo, where he has been a faculty member since 1972.

At UT, he developed the master of science industrial pharmacy program in 1984, the bachelor of science in pharmaceutical science pharmaceutics option in 2002, and the bachelor of science in pharmaceutical science cosmetic science option in 2011. He is the coordinator for all three programs.

He has mentored more than 100 master of science graduate students over the past 30 years, and he has more than 200 publications to his credit.

Alexander has been a past chair of the Section of Teachers of Pharmaceutics in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, a past president of the Toledo Area Society of Hospital Pharmacists and the Toledo Academy of Pharmacy, as well as district representative to the Ohio State Pharmaceutical Association and president of the Ohio Pharmacists Association in 1992.

Established in 1879, the Ohio Pharmacists Association represents more than 4,000 pharmacists, pharmacy educators and pharmacy students throughout the state. Its mission is to unite the profession of pharmacy and encourage interprofessional relations, while promoting public health through education, discussion and legislation.

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