LITTLE ROCK – Stephanie F. Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., dean of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy, has been elected a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP).

Gardner is one of 21 newly elected fellows of the ACCP who will be recognized at the organization’s 2005 annual meeting Oct. 23 in San Francisco.

The American College of Clinical Pharmacy is a professional and scientific society that provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources enabling clinical pharmacists to achieve excellence in practice and research.

Fellow status (FCCP) is the highest honor ACCP can bestow on its members.  It recognizes the highest levels of excellence in the practice and science of clinical pharmacy.

Prior to her appointment as dean, Gardner served eight years as chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice. She has mentored several post-doctorate fellows, pioneered the application of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination to pharmacy education, and serves on the editorial boards of two professional journals.

Gardner joined the UAMS College of Pharmacy in 1991 as a pharmacotherapy specialist in cardiology. She earned a doctorate in education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2001 and was promoted from assistant professor to professor in 2003.

She has been instrumental in developing a role for the College of Pharmacy in helping to shape pharmaceutical evaluation and policy in the state. She has worked with the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Medical Services to develop an evidence-based prescription drug program for the state.

Gardner earned a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of North Carolina and completed a research fellowship in Cardiovascular Pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University.

 UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,200 students and 660 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.3 billion a year.

UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute.