Pharmacy Professionals Honored with Alumni Awards

Honored and honorary alumnus awards bestowed at annual graduation banquet ceremonies

By Becky Ceraul
May 21, 2012

On May 16, the School of Pharmacy’s Alumni Association hosted its annual graduation banquet for the graduating class at which it also recognized the Evander Frank Kelly Honored Alumnus and the B. Olive Cole Honorary Alumnus. Close to 300 students, faculty, sponsors, and alumni association members attended.

Martin Mintz, BSP ’65, was recognized as the 2012 Evander Frank Kelly Honored Alumnus and Stuart Haines, PharmD, was named the 2012 B. Olive Cole Honorary Alumnus.

For more than 40 years, Mintz has been a loyal supporter of the School of Pharmacy. He has served as a student preceptor, been on the School’s Board of Visitors, and in 2008, was inducted into the Dean’s Hall of Fame for Distinguished Community Pharmacists.

“As CEO of Baltimore’s Northern Pharmacy & Medical Equipment, Marty personifies the successful independent pharmacist, with a multimillion-dollar business serving customers all over the world,” said Hoai-An Truong, PharmD ‘05, president of the Alumni Association in announcing the award. “He built the business, which employs more than 100 people, by anticipating trends in retail pharmacy and by placing customer service at the very top of his priority list. Marty has instilled these values in pharmacy students as a preceptor since 1968. While supervising students working in his company, he helps train them to be business owners as well as pharmacists.”

In 2009, Mintz and his wife, Judy, established The Mintz Family Scholarship Endowment at the School of Pharmacy to support students pursuing a career in community pharmacy.

“The education I received at the School of Pharmacy has a lot to do with my success, that is why, whenever I get the opportunity, I try to give back and I hope you graduates will do the same,” Mintz said in accepting the award.

In announcing Haines as the recipient of the B. Olive Cole Honorary Alumnus award, Truong said: “Stuart’s vision is to empower people through education. For all of his 18 year tenure at the School of Pharmacy, this vision has been carried out by challenging students, residents and colleagues to grow both personally and professionally.”

Haines joined the School of Pharmacy faculty in 1994 after graduating with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Texas at Austin. “With a solid pharmacy education behind him, he began to quickly shape his career, and in less than 10 years, he developed into a leader in the field of ambulatory care,” Truong said.

“I have spent most of my professional life working to expand the scope of practice for pharmacists, particularly in ambulatory care settings,” Haines said in accepting the award. “I feel very fortunate that I was offered a faculty position at the University of Maryland. I could not have picked a better place to practice, teach, or engage in scholarship. The School – through its faculty, staff, students, residents, and fellows – has always been fertile ground for the development of pharmacy leaders, people who challenge the status quo and advocate for changes that improve lives.”

The graduation banquet for the graduating members of the Class of 2012 was also a night to celebrate the 50-year reunion of the Class of 1962. Eleven members of the class attended the banquet to reconnect and reminisce with their former classmates.