School of Pharmacy dean selected

Jeanette Roberts, an academic administrator and professor from the University of Utah, has been selected as the new dean of the School of Pharmacy, Chancellor John D. Wiley announced Thursday (June 12).

Roberts is currently professor of medicinal chemistry, associate dean for academic affairs, and adjunct professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Utah’s College of Pharmacy. She is also adjunct professor of foods and nutrition in Utah’s College of Health.

Wiley chose Roberts from a list of four finalists compiled in April by a 17-member search-and-screen committee, which was chaired by Daniel Rich, professor of pharmacy, and included representatives from the faculty, academic staff, non-represented classified staff, student body and community.

“All four finalists were exceptional candidates,” Wiley says. “But Jeanette Roberts’ experience and leadership skills and her vision for a school that is vitally important to the system of health care in Wisconsin make her the clear choice for this position.”

Roberts will take over the only pharmacy school in Wisconsin, which educates 90 percent of the state’s pharmacists. A date for her to assume the UW–Madison her new position is being finalized, but will likely occur by late October or early November. She will earn an annual salary of $180,000.

As dean, Roberts will serve as the chief academic and executive officer of the School of Pharmacy, with responsibility for faculty and staff development, personnel oversight, budget planning and management, research, curriculum, student academic affairs and fund-raising.

“It is a distinct honor to join the School of Pharmacy community of faculty, staff and students as the new dean,” Roberts says. “The school’s reputation for excellence in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences education and practice is truly exceptional, and I am delighted to become a part of that heritage. I look forward to meeting the entire Wisconsin pharmacy community and working together toward shared goals and dreams for the benefit of the citizens of Wisconsin and beyond.”

The school, which is ranked among the finest pharmacy schools in the country, has an annual budget of approximately $15 million and has 110 faculty and staff, 525 professional and undergraduate students, and 100 doctoral and postdoctoral students.

Roberts will replace Melvin Weinswig, who announced last year that he would retire after more than three decades at UW–Madison. Weinswig joined the university in 1969 as a professor in continuing education for pharmacy professionals. He became chair of Extension Services in Pharmacy, helping turn the school’s extension program into the largest pharmacist re-training program in the nation. He served as interim dean for nine months before being chosen to lead the school in 1995.