Clinical Associate Professors James Ray and Jeffrey Reist bade farewell to the UI College of Pharmacy and their academic careers, officially retiring on June 30, 2025.

James Ray, PharmD, CPE, began his career at the UI College of Pharmacy in 2015. He served as the James A. Otterbeck OnePoint Patient Care Professor in Hospice and Palliative Care, a clinical associate professor, and a clinical pharmacy specialist for the Adult Supportive and Palliative Care Consult Service at UI Health Care.
Under his guidance, Ray instituted a Palliative Care Certificate within the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program and spearheaded a PGY2 Palliative Care Residency. Together with faculty colleagues, he founded the SOLACE Palliative Care Collaborative. SOLACE’s mission is to advance innovative teaching in whole-person care for individuals living with complex illnesses and to prepare current and future pharmacists to deliver compassionate care. The collaborative is dedicated to scholarship, outreach, and advocacy to improve the lives of people with serious illness.
In 2024, Ray received the Ben Pardini Interdisciplinary Teaching Award from the UI Carver College of Medicine. He will continue to teach part-time at the college, contribute to scholarship of teaching and learning research and writing, and complete his leadership terms with the Society of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacists and the Society of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacists Foundation.
Jeffrey Reist joined the college in July 2003 as a clinical instructor and coordinator of the Pharmacy Practice Labs (PPL). In January 2008, he became PPL director and clinical assistant professor, overseeing and delivering the Foundations of Pharmacy Practice course in the PharmD program.

Reist and his colleagues designed the new Pharmacy Practice Learning Center in the College of Pharmacy’s new building, creating a model that has inspired many other colleges. The center features multiple areas for small, team-based learning and incorporates advanced technology tools for assessment.
Reist also served as a clinical pharmacist on the interprofessional team at UI Health Care’s Department of Family Medicine Geriatric Clinic. His research focuses on innovations in teaching, methods to promote appropriate pharmacotherapy in older adults, and improving care for patients with dementia. Among his many teaching accolades, Reist has received the UI’s Hubbard-Walder Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Thomas R. Temple Mentorship Award from the Iowa Pharmacy Association.
His plans include continuing work on a research grant and teaching part-time this fall. He looks forward to spending more time with his family, hiking in Colorado, riding his bike, working out, and reading.