Ohio Northern University’s Raabe College of Pharmacy today honored Roseman University College of Pharmacy Dean and Executive Vice President of Quality Assurance and Intercampus Consistency Dr. Renee Coffman during its 5th Annual Distinguished Alumni Awards. Dr. Coffman, along with three other alumni, were recognized for their outstanding career accomplishments and contributions to ONU.
Following her graduation in 1987 from ONU, Dr. Coffman worked as a pharmacist in her hometown of Bucyrus, Ohio and in Piqua, Ohio. In 1995, Dr. Coffman earned a doctoral degree in Industrial and Physical Pharmacy from Purdue University, where she received the Kienle Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Jenkins-Knevel Award for Outstanding Graduate Research, and was awarded an AAPE-AFPE Association Fellowship in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Following her tenure at Purdue University, Dr. Coffman became a founding member of the faculty at Western University of Health Sciences, where she also held the position of Facilitative Officer for Student Services. While at Western, Dr. Coffman and four colleagues received Honorable Mention for the AACP Innovations in Teaching Awards.
In 1999, along with Dr. Harry Rosenberg, Dr. Coffman co-founded the Nevada College of Pharmacy, the first college of pharmacy in the state. Over the next 10 years, the Nevada College of Pharmacy expanded to become the University of Southern Nevada, adding a College of Nursing, an MBA program, and a College of Dental Medicine, as well as extending its educational offerings to a campus in South Jordan, Utah.
Since moving to Southern Nevada in 1999, Dr. Coffman has worked to support pharmacy, education, and improved health care through her work with the Southern Nevada Medical Industry Coalition, iDO (Improving Diabetes and Obesity in Southern Nevada), the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Medication Error Discussion Group, and the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Committee on Standards for Approval of Pharmacy Technician Training Programs. In recognition of her community service in Southern Nevada, in 2008 she received the “Who’s Who in Healthcare” Award and the “Women of Distinction” Award, both sponsored by In Business Las Vegas (now Vegas Inc). Additionally, Dr. Coffman was instrumental in successful legislative efforts permitting pharmacists to perform finger-stick blood glucose testing.
Dr. Coffman is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American Pharmaceutical Association, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, The American Society of Health System Pharmacists, and the International Federation of Pharmacy, as well as Phi Kappa Phi and Rho Chi Honor Societies and the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society.