Pharmacy dean to step down in September 2013

Jeanette Roberts, dean of the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy,  says the public policy and political sides of health care have always interested her. After a 10-year run as the head of the UW System’s only pharmacy school, Roberts plans to step aside next year to pursue that passion.

Roberts announced this week that she will step down as dean effective Sept. 1, 2013.

Roberts was named pharmacy school’s dean in June 2003 after spending 15 years as an academic administrator and professor at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy.

Provost Paul M. DeLuca Jr. praised Roberts for her leadership and vision.

“Under the guidance of Dean Roberts, the School of Pharmacy has continued to build on its reputation as a premier institution on a global scale, and a critical component of the health care system in the state of Wisconsin,” DeLuca says.

The most recent U.S. News rankings of pharmacy programs put UW–Madison’s fifth among more than 100, up from ninth the previous year and ahead of programs at Ohio State University and the University of Michigan.

In addition, the World Education Congress recently named the school Best Educational Institute in Pharmacy in the world.

“The school would not be thriving as it is without the unwavering leadership of Jeanette Roberts, and she leaves it in excellent condition for her successor,” DeLuca said.

One of the things Roberts enjoyed most during her tenure is the alumni and external relations work. The support of alumni and friends has kept the school’s research and instruction efforts at a high level, Roberts says.

It was while studying for her masters of public health degree that Roberts’ interest in public policy was sparked. With health care at the center of the national political debate, Roberts hopes to secure a fellowship in Washington, D.C., and work for either a congressional committee focused on the issue, or a member of Congress deeply involved in the national discussion.

 “I’ve always been fascinated by the politics of health care,” Roberts says. “Stepping away after 10 years as dean seemed like a good time. I want to get knee-deep into health care policy analysis and development and where better than Washington?”

The UW–Madison School of Pharmacy, established in 1883, was the first school to offer a baccalaureate in pharmacy. The school was also the first in the nation to confer doctoral degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, the history of pharmacy, social studies of pharmacy, continuing education, and one of the first in pharmacy administration.

The school has more than 7,100 living alumni and had an enrollment of 646 students in the 2011 academic year. A total of 160 degrees on the bachelor’s, masters and doctorate levels were conferred by the school of pharmacy in the 2010-11 academic year.

Asked what she will miss most, Roberts doesn’t hesitate.

“The people in the building, plus the people outside the building, the alumni community, the pharmacy community of Wisconsin,” she says.

Because of those strong ties to the community, Roberts says she plans to retain her faculty status and potentially return to teach on public health care policy following her stint in Washington.