Campus Connection

With her appointment last month, Dr. Natalie Eddington became the first female and African-American to be appointed dean of the School of Pharmacy. Only once in the school's history has another woman held the reins: when Olivia B. Cole filled in as acting dean.

Eddington gained administrative experience as the chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences over the last four years where she implemented plans for improving intradepartmental collaborative research efforts. She already has some ambitious objectives for her deanship. The obvious goal is to be a top ranked university, and she hopes to encourage increased NIH funding while still taking advantage of industrial-type opportunities in the Pharmaceutical Sciences research program.

She has some more finely detailed goals as well. The first, as a mission of the school, is to educate pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists for the state of Maryland. The second is more unique and nuanced. "I want our graduates and our trainees to be leaders, to go out and change the way that pharmacy is practiced. I really want us to shape the future of pharmacy." The typical view of a pharmacist is that of an individual counting out pills—what Eddington calls a limited perspective. "Pharmacists have so much to really give."

Eddington wants to see graduates of her school interact more directly with patients, particularly on issues of compliance. "The pharmacist is the most accessible health care professional. You can walk into CVS, Rite Aid, or any independent pharmacy and you can see your pharmacist." She believes that training students to work one-on-one with patients will inspire them to make a difference in the lives of individuals, and as a result, revolutionize the way that pharmacy is practiced.

Eddington finds her own inspiration rather close to home. She cites both her mother and her grandmother as defining female role models. Both women were very involved with her education, though her grandmother was without a formal education herself. Described as a quiet woman, she had what Eddington called "a very strong silence" that encouraged her granddaughter to be successful. Eddington's mother was a successful educator herself, teaching first grade and also working as a social worker.

Marilyn Speedie, Eddington's former department chair, also played a vital role in helping her define her key leadership qualities. Eddington describes Speedie, now dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota , as a fair, even-handed person capable of both thinking great visions and seeing them to fruition.

Eddington hopes to implement her visions while also maintaining her research interests. Though she has taken on a primarily administrative role, she intends to continue her role as a researcher and educator during her term. "I enjoy that interaction with students. I enjoy watching students develop and mature and commit themselves to being excellent scientists… and looking at their maturity both scientifically and personally as they go through the program… and [then] going out and making an impact."

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