The University of Iowa

College of Pharmacy

About the Award

The Honorary Alumni Award annually honors friends of the College for their personal contribution toward pharmacy achievement, leadership and service to the profession, or exhibits exceptional service to the College. These individuals inspire our students and serve as role models.

Nominees include individuals who have made contributions to the theory and practice of pharmacy, demonstrated major accomplishments in a professional pharmacy practice or in pharmaceutical research and development. Recipients also include those who have managed or directed an organization that has made noteworthy national or international contributions to the pharmacy profession, in addition to truly exceptional service to their community, the College, the profession, or the public.

To nominate an individual for this award, please follow this link.

2022 Honorary Alumni Award Recipients

Nancy Alvarez

Nancy Alvarez, PharmD, is associate dean of Academic and Professional Affairs (Phoenix Campus), associate professor of practice in Pharmacy Practice and Science, and the director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy – from which she graduated. She was part of the founding leadership team and faculty at Chapman University School of Pharmacy and held a variety of roles at Endo Pharmaceuticals in the Medical Affairs Department, Hospice Pharmacia (later excelleRx) in end-of-life care, and Walgreens.

Alvarez, a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist, has a strong interest in leader development. She serves as a board member, facilitator, content developer, and program director for the Pharmacy Leadership and Education Institute. Alvarez is a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and received its 2020 Gloria Niemeyer Franke Leadership Mentor Award and 2021 Linwood F. Tice Friend of APhA-Academy of Student Pharmacists Award. She has held executive roles for the APhA and the Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Society. Additional boards on which she is a member include the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, the APhA Foundation, and the Society of Pain and Palliative Care Foundation.

Vern Duba 2022 University of Iowa College of Pharmacy Honorary Alumni Honoree

Vern Duba

Vern Duba, BA, MA, is clinical assistant professor in the UI College of Pharmacy Practice and Science department and course coordinator for Health Information Retrieval & Informatics. He also is an instructional-services specialist in the College’s Office of Professional Education, where he facilitates the Faculty Mentoring Program, oversees three drug-information database subscriptions, and supports students’ learning and retention.

Duba earned a BA in English and speech from Doane College in Nebraska and a Master of Arts in library and informational science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. His academic interests include the librarian’s collaborative role in curriculum-based learning and the challenges and opportunities of electronic-drug information sources, mobile technologies, and the Internet.

Duba is a past chair of the Library and Information Sciences Section of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and a four-time recipient of the Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund Stipend. He has received the Iowa Worklife Improving Our Workplace Award, the UI College of Pharmacy Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy Excellence in Teaching Award, and the College’s P1 Teacher of the Year twice.

Past Honorary Alumni Award Recipients*

2021 Honorary Alumni Award Recipients

Barbara Kelley, BBA, BA, MBA
Edward Yorty, MS Fin, FCAS, FSA MAAA

2019 Honorary Alumni Award Recipient

Leslie Williams, BSN, MBA

2018 Honorary Alumni Award Recipients

Kate Gainer, PharmD
Lisa Ploehn, PharmD

2017 Honorary Alumni Award Recipients

Mundi McCarty, BS
CoraLynn Trewet, PharmD

2016 Honorary Alumni Award Recipient

Bernard A. Sorofman, PhD, FAPhA

2015 Honorary Alumni Award Recipient

George Hiller, ’80 BBA, ’82 MBA

2014 Honorary Alumni Award Recipients

Robert Greenwood, PharmD
James Otterbeck, BBA, MBA

*No ceremony was held in 2020.