About the Award
The Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement is presented annually to one or more individuals who have made extraordinary achievements in the pharmacy profession. This medal is a pinnacle award given by the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, for a recipient who has advanced the practice of pharmacy in profound ways or made significant strides in discovery.
The award is named for both Robert and Ann Osterhaus, of Maquoketa, Iowa. Robert Osterhaus helped transform pharmacy practice and patient care in Iowa and in our nation. His business, Osterhaus Pharmacy, is a leading community rotation site for the UI College of Pharmacy and has earned national recognition for its patient-centered approach and emphasis on the pharmacist's role in health care.
Osterhaus has received many state, national, and international awards, including the American Pharmacists Association Remington Medal, the highest recognition given in the profession of pharmacy. He also served four terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, contributing his perspective as a health care professional and shaping legislative initiatives like the HAWK-I insurance plan for children from low-income families.
In May 2012, Osterhaus received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Iowa.
2022 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Miekeleen Hart
Miekeleen Hart, '79 BSPh, of Akron, Ohio, retired in 2005 as vice president of Strategic Planning U.S. Human Health for Merck after 26 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Following retirement, Hart founded MDK Consulting, LLC to provide strategy development and implementation planning consulting services to healthcare companies considering or executing new commercial models.
A 2015 recipient of the UI College of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumni Award, she has served on the College of Pharmacy Executive Leadership Board and the UI Center for Advancement (UICA) Comprehensive Campaign Steering Committee. She currently is a member of the UICA board of directors.
Additionally, Hart is vice chair for AlphaNet, Inc.’s (a nonprofit devoted to improving the lives of individuals with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency) board of directors and co-chair of the Campaign Steering Committee for Common Bond, Uncommon Impact – a $25 million comprehensive campaign for Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. Within her home community, Hart is an active member and past president of Bath Volunteers for Service (a women’s philanthropic organization dedicated to raising and providing funds to greater Akron area nonprofit organizations) and serves on the Bath Community Fund Development Committee.
Her passion in establishing the College of Pharmacy Hart Entrepreneurial Fund is seeded in her desire to stimulate pharmacy students to act and explore the commercial viability of their creative and innovative ideas to improve patient care, health, and wellness. Hart lives with her husband Jim and their two boxer dogs.
Previous Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipients*
2021 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipients
Tom Ho, '70 PhD
Randy Juhl, '72 BSPh, '74 MS, '76 PhD
2019 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipients
Lyle Bighley, '63 MS, '66 PhD
Dennis Helling, BS Pharm, PharmD, ScD (Hon)
2018 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Jordan L. Cohen, BSPh, PhD
2017 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Jannet Carmichael, '75 BSPh, PharmD
2016 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Patrick Keefe, ’69 BSPh, MBA
2015 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Victor Yanchick, ’62 BSPh, ’66 MS, PhD
2014 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
TJ Johnsrud, ’66 BSPh
2013 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipient
David Maher, ’64 BSPh
2012 Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Recipients
Robert Osterhaus, ’52 BSPh
Max Eggleston, ’47 BSP
Thomas Temple, BSPh, ’77 MS
*No ceremony was held in 2020.