For more than 30 years, Jeff Millard has been a strong thread in the fabric of UI Pharmaceuticals.  

In recognition of the work he does, Millard received the 2023-2024 UI College of Pharmacy Staff of the Year Award. The honor recognizes a staff member who demonstrates a commitment to excellence through an outstanding set of accomplishments and contributions that significantly benefit the College.

Millard is quick to give credit to his colleagues. 

“We’re a link in a long chain of activities that has to occur to get a drug product to approval in the market,” he shared. “This award is a reflection of the team I have around me and how well they do their job, their commitment, and their professionalism.” 

He added, “You don’t do this by yourself. It’s really a group effort. It’s very flattering to be recognized and acknowledged by the people I’ve worked with for quite a few years, but this is a reflection on them and their hard work as well.”

In the three decades he’s worked for UI Pharmaceuticals, Millard has held a number of roles, ranging from student lab assistant to manager of Quality Assurance to most recently director of Quality Assurance. He graduated with a bachelor’s in cellular biology in 1993.

In his current role, Millard is in charge of Quality Assurance reviewers, materials management, and inspection and label control. 

Regardless of which job aspect he's concentrating on, Millard embodies everything the Staff of the Year Award represents. He collaborates not only internally across departments, but externally with the wide variety of companies UI Pharmaceuticals does contract work for. Millard has also been instrumental in the collaborative success of UI Pharmaceuticals, partnering with the UI College of Pharmacy to host students who have opted to choose UI Pharmaceuticals as an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotation.

Millard has continued to build upon UI Pharmaceuticals’ excellent reputation as a premier quality partner for pharmaceutical manufacturing. His nominators noted that he goes above and beyond to create lasting relationships with partners through his willingness to answer questions and work toward solutions for improving pharmaceutical industry quality of life.

One award nominator stated, “Jeff’s ability to bridge experience gaps, language barriers, and various levels of regulatory requirements is critical for the success of UI Pharmaceuticals and the College of Pharmacy. Without Jeff bridging these gaps over the past 30 years, UI Pharmaceuticals would not be able to operate from early-phase clinical studies to commercial manufacturing. Jeff can talk to anyone and easily explain the regulations, and our approach to resolve potential conflict before it begins.”

For Millard, the most rewarding part of working at UI Pharmaceuticals is partnering with clients and helping develop novel drug therapies while improving patient quality of life. He’s proud to be surrounded by wonderful colleagues, too. 

“There’s a lot of variables and unknowns involved in our work, and it can be chaotic,” Millard said. “But we have a group of dedicated professionals who do their best to satisfy client needs and expectations, thereby meeting the needs of patients.”

Likewise, Millard’s coworkers are grateful to partner with a professional like him.

“Jeff has built a rapport and respect with so many throughout the organization who turn to him when they need support and guidance,” said one award nominator. “I feel that Jeff's ability to work with so many and guide them through difficult conversations and regulatory difficulties highlights his sense of responsibility to UI Pharmaceuticals, the College, our mission and vision, and to each individual person within the organization. He can make you laugh during the most difficult of times — a quality needed many days!”

UI Pharmaceuticals is a division within the College of Pharmacy that designs, develops, tests, and produces medicines for use in clinical trials to support the development of novel drugs. Its clients include innovative biotech and large pharmaceutical companies, university researchers, and governmental laboratories