On Aug. 13, Jay Currie will celebrate 40 years at the UI College of Pharmacy. 

It will also mark his very last day. 

After four decades at the College, Currie will walk out of his office in the College of Pharmacy building and into a well-earned retirement. 

Currie graduated from the College in 1980 with a bachelor’s in pharmacy. Four years later, in 1984, he earned his Doctor of Pharmacy and subsequently joined as a faculty member. At the same time, Currie became the clinical pharmacist for the Cedar Rapids Medical Education Foundation Family Medicine Residency Program at the Mechanicsville Pioneer Medical Center. Two years later he took a clinical pharmacist position at the Family Practice Center in Cedar Rapids. 

In 2005, Currie’s professional trajectory shifted from being a faculty member and clinical pharmacist to assuming leadership and administration roles at the College. He served as the associate head of the Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy, vice chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science (PPS), and head of the Division of Applied Clinical Science. 

Since 2013, Currie has served as PPS chair. 

Even with these various roles, he never intended to hold leadership positions at the college level. He always thought he’d be a community pharmacist in a small town. After earning his PharmD, Currie was fully prepared to work for one of his incredible mentors, Ray Buser, at what was then called Claxton Pharmacy in Cedar Rapids. Even prior to that, as an undergraduate, Currie told his fellow classmates that “When I graduate, my shadow will never darken these halls again.” 

Life clearly had other plans for Currie. 

He never lost his connection to Buser. 

In the early 1990s, the concept of pharmaceutical care emerged. Buser wondered if it could be incorporated into community pharmacy, so Currie helped put together a study to find out more. He found that indeed, it could. 

“That really changed my career path,” Currie said. “By 1994, I left the residency program to do this new thing of trying to advance community pharmacy and make it more people-oriented than product-oriented.”

In the decades since Currie started at the UI College of Pharmacy, he’s received numerous accolades, but nothing makes him prouder than helping other people succeed, especially students. 

“As faculty, it’s my job to hopefully facilitate their success,” Currie said. 

He wants to be remembered for always being committed to the effort. For as long as he worked in the college, he was “all in.” 

“If we don’t produce good people, who’s going to take care of us?” he said. “It’s a matter of ‘We’re all in this together.’ Caring that we did the best we could with the students and are committed to doing so is something I think I’ll miss. The ability to help a student and have the light come on over their head when you’re working with them, that’s what it’s all about. It’s very satisfying.”

Some of Currie’s favorite accomplishments over the course of his career have nothing to do with awards, of which he’s received many, including the Innovative Practice Pharmacy Award from the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA), the APhA-APPM Distinguished Achievement Award in Clinical/Pharmacotherapeutic Practice, and the 2007 Hancher Finkbine Faculty Medallion from the UI. 

While these are wonderful honors, what brings Currie the most gratitude are efforts such as helping to launch the longest-running community pharmacy residency program, creating a course that enabled students to become immunization delivery certified, and building a database of real-life examples that are used for teaching and testing purposes. 

For the last 25 years, Currie also served as the point person for the international pharmacy practice rotation with two schools in Japan. He’s been able to travel to the country five times, visiting with students and building relationships with fellow faculty members. 

“That’s something I never would have dreamed I’d be part of,” Currie said. 

He’s a farm kid from northwest Iowa who never really set out to achieve all that he has. Currie’s goal has simply been to do what needs to be done. 

Currie has helped advance the pharmacy profession not only through his service in the College, but also by contributing to creating the Iowa Center for Pharmaceutical Care and his years-long involvement with the IPA. His goal is to earn his 50-Year Pharmacist Award through the association, so he’ll keep his license for the next six years while holding an emeritus status within the College. 

When Currie reflects on his journey, he thinks about the wise words of his father-in-law, Fred, who recently passed away at the age of 101. Someone once asked Fred, “How do you do it?”

“I go out there every day and do the best I can,” Fred responded. 

Said Currie, “I can relate to that. Every day, you do the best you can and see where that takes you.” 

It helps that Currie has been surrounded by so many great mentors over the years. 

“I am so lucky to have had those people. Because otherwise, I wouldn’t be where I’m at.”

“When I think of impactful faculty over the years, Jay stands out for his intelligence, work ethic, and leadership."  -- Gary Milavetz, executive associate dean

Bernard Sorofman, professor emeritus, started in the College just a couple months after Currie did. Eventually, Currie took the position of vice chair when Sorofman served as chair of what is now PPS.

“In this capacity, there was no one I worked closer with to build an exceptional department,” Sorofman said. “His council was needed, respected, and often different than my thinking. I valued this tremendously.”

Throughout their years together, many things about Currie made working together enjoyable for Sorofman: his creative mind, dedication to the improvement of patient care, willingness to challenge the status quo (often Sorofman), and deep love of Iowa and the UI College of Pharmacy. 

“Over 40 years, Jay has been a critic, a good friend, and one of the most important colleagues in my career journey,” Sorofman said. “I was a better faculty member, colleague, and academic leader because of Jay.”

Susan Vos, former associate dean for Student Affairs in the College and current senior director of Student Affairs at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, agreed. 

“Jay took a chance on hiring a young pharmacist and continuously helped me to develop my leadership skills during my 17 years at the College,” she shared. “He constantly supported my ideas and was always open to discussing hot topics in pharmacy. He served as a mentor for me and countless other faculty and students, always looking for ways to elevate those around him.”

Vos added that she sees Currie as a connector, as do many others. 

“He develops relationships and has a vision for advancing pharmacy practice,” she said. “I recall in my first months on the faculty at Iowa, he and I drove to Des Moines to the Iowa Pharmacy Association Headquarters. That day, I met Tom Temple and Kate Gainer, and this connection sparked my interest in involvement in IPA. I have no doubt that Jay made connections for many pharmacists and sparked an interest in getting involved in advocating for our patients and our profession.”

And for Gary Milavetz, executive associate dean in the UI College of Pharmacy, regardless of the roles he and Currie have been in (they’ve both been each other’s bosses at some point over their 40 years together), their working relationship has been open and frank. 

“We often bounce ideas and solutions to issues off of each other with the hope that we come to the best possible outcome for the College,” Milavetz said. “When I think of impactful faculty over the years, Jay stands out for his intelligence, work ethic, and leadership. He is a thoughtful and principled leader for students, staff, and faculty. He has spent countless hours in both classrooms and experiential education to the benefit of our students.” 

Milavetz feels that Currie is one of the people in his life who’s made a lasting impact.

“I’ve learned from him as a scholar, academic administrator, and patient-care advocate,” he said. 

Those three phrases certainly embody what Currie has done over the course of his career. But now, he’s excited to add another word to the list—namely, retiree.