Elizabeth Daniels Fund underscores the importance of community

In permanent recognition of Elizabeth Daniels’ decades-long commitment to nurturing an inclusive UCSF School of Pharmacy community, a gift of $1 million to the UCSF Foundation by Troy Daniels, DDS, and Leslie Daniels, established the endowed Elizabeth Daniels Fund, in December 2019, to support social events hosted by the School’s dean for faculty members, students, and guests of the School.

Elizabeth Daniels’ husband, Troy C. Daniels, PhD, served as dean of the School from 1944 to 1967. During this period, the Daniels welcomed countless faculty members and their families, staff members, and visitors to carefully crafted campus events and to gatherings in the Daniels home. As well, Elizabeth Daniels shared her voice as both a participant and a leader in national pharmacy auxiliaries and in organizations such as the League of Women Voters. She died in 1986, one year after her husband. Troy Daniels and Leslie Daniels are the late couple’s son and daughter-in-law.

“In many ways, Elizabeth demonstrated—with such dignity—the unwavering commitment to community and inclusion that UCSF now memorializes through our PRIDE values,” said B. Joseph Guglielmo, PharmD, dean of the UCSF School of Pharmacy. “By showing respect for every member of the School family, and by purposefully demonstrating the importance of inclusiveness and diversity, Elizabeth furthered the professionalism and excellence of the School beyond measure.”

Daniels was born Elizabeth Chittenden Holland in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1907. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Indiana University in 1929, the same year she married Troy C. Daniels, who himself graduated that year from Indiana University with a doctorate in chemistry.

The couple subsequently moved to San Francisco where Troy C. Daniels began his tenure as a faculty member in the UCSF School of Pharmacy—then called the College of Pharmacy, Affiliated Colleges of the University of California—teaching theoretical pharmacy and physics. He ended his UCSF career 37 years later after serving for more than two decades as the School’s dean. During this period, the Daniels raised two children and ultimately welcomed six grandchildren into their family.

In 1986, Jere E. Goyan, PhD, who was then the UCSF School of Pharmacy dean, wrote this of Elizabeth Daniels upon her death:

She was a remarkable and wonderful woman who, while deeply involved in the affairs of the School, never succumbed to the stereotypical “helpmate” role that was almost mandatory for the wife of a dean of her generation. Thus, we have lost the second half of a loving partnership that benefited the School for more than thirty years. We miss them both.

“From all I’ve learned of Elizabeth Daniels and her life, she clearly understood the importance of meaningful human interactions,” said Guglielmo. “This endowment nurtures the community of people that drives our work. It’s a truly enlightened purpose. We’re extremely thankful for this endowment and for the opportunity to honor Elizabeth’s memory.”

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School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, PharmD Degree Program

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.