Passing the Torch

Abstract

It my sincere pleasure to welcome Dr. Gayle A. Brazeau, Dean at the University of New England College of Pharmacy, as the 7th Editor of the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Gayle has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal for over 9 years and has a wealth of experience in pharmacy education and an outstanding record of leadership in the profession. She is well known to many in pharmacy education. She has led Journal efforts in the pharmaceutical sciences and played a major role in quality improvement efforts of the Journal, including the peer review process. Dr. Brazeau has had appointments as Professor of Pharmacy Practice and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Before then, she was a faculty member at the University of Houston and the University of Florida. She is a product of the University of Toledo with a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy, and of the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, with a PhD in pharmaceutics. She has been very active in the Association, having served as an elected officer, committee member and committee chair including the Chair of the Council of Faculties. She has been recognized many times for her teaching at the University at Buffalo, University of Florida, and the University of Houston. She has served on Food and Drug Administration, the United States Pharmacopeia, and National Institutes of Health panels and committees, and has a consistent record of peer review publications, book chapters, and books throughout her academic career She describes her pedagogical research interests as focusing on curricular assessment strategies and design and assessment of student learning, and her laboratory research interests on investigating the biochemical and toxicological interactions of drugs or excipients with skeletal muscle and other disease effects on skeletal muscle. The Journal concluded its 77th year of publication in 2013. The mission of the Journal has remained the same over the past 10 years: “to document and advance pharmaceutical education in the United States and internationally.” The Journal has been advantaged by the growth in pharmacy education. Pharmacy educators throughout the United States and the world have had phenomenal success in designing and implementing better approaches for teaching and learning. Many of these efforts find their way into the Journal. The success of the Journal can be attributed to the foundation that was established from the first year of publication in 1937 by previous editors, editorial board members, authors, and reviewers. The Journal has benefited from our exceptional Associate Editors: Jack Fincham, Claire Anderson and Frank Romanelli (as well as Dr. Brazeau). Dr. Fincham has been our expert in many areas including social and administrative sciences, health economics, health behavior, and public health topics. Dr. Anderson is our International Associate Editor who has increased the international visibility of the Journal. Dr. Romanelli brings expertise in pharmacy practice and pharmacotherapy, public health, and curriculum development. The Journal has been fortunate to have Senior Assistant Editor Karen Shipp and other Journal staff members who have done the critical day-to-day work of publishing, the Editorial Board members and peer reviewers who have provided expert guidance and feedback, and our authors whose research and insights have had a positive impact on academic pharmacy. The Journal is a result of the excellent scholarship that has come from the pharmacy education academy and from all of our authors and manuscript reviewers who work hard to assure the high quality of what is published. The South Carolina College of Pharmacy at the University of South Carolina and the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy have provided a home for the Journal editorial office since 2002. The AACP Board of Directors and staff have played a critical role in the Journal’s success. AACP Executive Vice President and CEO Lucinda Maine and Senior Director of Academic Affairs Cecilia Plaza have always provided valuable support and guidance. Looking back over the past decade there were important Board decisions that led to significant Journal progress: to convert from print to online publication, to allow open-access publication, to appoint associate editors, to increase to 10 issues per year, to fund a full-time assistant editor position, and to provide support for state-of-the-art website. It has been a great privilege of my career to have served as Editor the past 12 years. As Editor, I have learned much from all the great work of the Journal authors, and I highly valued the opportunity to meet many colleagues in pharmacy education. I have enjoyed every minute being editor and will certainly miss it in the years ahead.