School of Pharmacy dean named Dean of the Year

A national association of student pharmacists recently named Dean Sidney Nelson of the UW School of Pharmacy Outstanding Dean of the Year.

The American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) will present Nelson with his award at the APhA-ASP award ceremony in Atlanta, Ga. March 19.

"I was very excited and surprised to receive the nomination and award," Dean Nelson said. "I was glad I was sitting down."

The student group Unified Professional Pharmacy Organizations of Washington nominated Nelson. The nomination included a letter plus five letters of recommendation from alumni, students, faculty members and other local pharmacists.

"We knew we were going to nominate the dean last summer," said Elyse Tung, one of the student nominators. "We were well aware of the deadline and prepared accordingly."

The Outstanding Dean of the Year award was established in 2004, making Nelson one of its first recipients.

"He was not even aware that he was nominated for the award until someone of APhA called him at his office to let him know that he actually won," Tung said.

Dean Nelson is known to many around the School of Pharmacy (UWSOP) as being the "students' dean" and knowing many of the students on a first-name basis.

"He demonstrates a physical presence at most UWSOP events," said Megan Roseman, another student nominator. "[And] he helps financially by contributing money from the Dean's Fund to help pay for student travel and events."

One unique aspect of Nelson is that apart from being the school's dean, he also continues to conduct lab research and teach professional students and graduates.

"I'm really an accidental dean," Nelson said. "I was part of a failed search committee. The current president (William Gerberding) thought that we needed a dean who would commit to at least five years. And so the next thing I knew, I was the new dean."

Nelson teaches one of the core courses in medicinal chemistry, an elective in diagnostic and clinical chemistry and others depending on the quarter.

"As a professor, he's an amazing teacher," Tung said. "He teaches some of the most complex medecinal chemistry concepts ... and he constantly supports the students' professional development."

The UWSOP has many accomplishments under its belt. Per capita, its faculty members bring in more research grant dollars than any other pharmacy school in the country, its alumni group has the highest participation of any UW school and both students and faculty are highly active within the school itself.

"Students are the most important," Nelson said. "They are our main clients and products, and we need to do what we can to help them now and after the program."

Reach reporter Jasmine Ines at news@thedaily.washington.edu.