Dean Koda-Kimble announces retirement

UCSF School of Pharmacy Dean Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD, announced today that she is stepping down as dean and retiring from UCSF on June 30, 2012, after 14 years as dean and 41 years as a member of the faculty. “I am prouder than ever with the accomplishments of our staff, faculty, and students and more energized than ever by the possibilities for the School and UCSF in the coming years…now is an auspicious time for a new and visionary leader.”

Koda-Kimble

Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD

January 10, 2012

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

I am stepping down as dean of the School of Pharmacy and retiring from the University at the end of June 2012. I wrestled hard with the timing of my decision because I am, today, prouder than ever with the accomplishments of our staff, faculty, and students and more energized than ever by the possibilities for the School and UCSF in the coming years. There is no best date to step aside, but now is an auspicious time for a new and visionary leader to guide the School and campus to the next higher level of greatness.

The School is in a strong position. We have deep and broad leadership in place; our scientists are doing work that will surely transform human health; our clinical faculty members are in pursuit of assuring the best medicines for all; our pharmaceutical services colleagues in the Medical Center are making great progress toward being at the leading edge nationally in the safe and effective use of medicines; and our exceptional students continue to lead the way. Our success is made possible by a cadre of competent and “can do” staff members who are just simply the best! And, we are an integral part of a unique and extraordinary campus community that enhances immeasurably the School’s accomplishments.

Academic health centers are at the threshold of a new era. Head-turning scientific discoveries, advances in technology, new economic realities, the imperative for health care reform, and a growing population of baby boomers like me will force us all to teach, do science, and deliver care in markedly different ways. Small incremental changes in the way we work will no longer do. We must use our collective intellects and imaginations to look at things afresh and have the courage to abandon the “business-as-usual” approach. Our new campus leaders, the School’s leadership team, and so many across the School and UCSF understand this well.

I am confident that the School and the campus will attract a dean who will engage with others to meet these challenges with vigor and boldness. He or she will shape and support the School’s stellar ideas from implementation to success.

I have a deep respect and admiration for all of the people with whom I have worked throughout my career—across UCSF and UC, and within the pharmacy profession and professional associations. All of you have enriched me personally in untold ways, and I am so thankful for these gifts of intellect and friendship. I am thankful as well for the exceptional generosity of friends who have supported our work financially. While I look toward retirement, I also look forward to contributing as a professor emeritus at some future time.

With great affection,

Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD

Professor and Dean

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School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, PharmD Degree Program, Dean's Office

About the School: The UCSF School of Pharmacy aims to solve the most pressing health care problems and strives to ensure that each patient receives the safest, most effective treatments. Our discoveries seed the development of novel therapies, and our researchers consistently lead the nation in NIH funding. The School’s doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree program, with its unique emphasis on scientific thinking, prepares students to be critical thinkers and leaders in their field.