Peter H. Doukas, dean of the Temple University School of Pharmacy (TUSP), will step down from his position at the end of the 2018–2019 academic year. 

“Since joining Temple in 1965, it has been a privilege and honor to serve the university and School of Pharmacy as a graduate assistant, faculty member and dean, and I look forward to continuing to serve in a different capacity in the future,” Doukas said. “I thank all of the students, alumni, faculty, staff, university administrators, trustees and friends who have enriched my life during this journey.”

Appointed acting dean in 1990 and dean in 1993, Doukas has defined his tenure with a consistent commitment to Temple’s founding principle of providing accessible, high-quality education as a means to transform individuals’ lives, catalyze opportunities for personal fulfillment, and lay foundations of economic stability. By attending to priorities fundamental to the university’s mission, Doukas cultivated a loyal and engaged academic community that works together to meet the demands of that mission.

“Dean Doukas is an exceptionally dedicated leader who has overseen a transformation at the School of Pharmacy and whose love for Temple University is legendary,” said President Richard M. Englert. “We are grateful for his longtime commitment to the school and especially to its faculty, students and alumni, who are helping our communities lead healthier, happier, more productive lives.”

Executive Vice President and Provost JoAnne Epps agreed, noting that Dean Doukas has “created new learning centers at the school that put Temple at the forefront of drug research and quality assurance. We will miss his thoughtful contributions to the university, especially to the Council of Deans.” 

Doukas credits TUSP’s successes during his nearly three decades as dean to the colleagues, collaborators, friends and donors with whom he has partnered, combined with consistent university support for several key initiatives, including:

• the successful transition from the bachelor of science to the flagship doctor of pharmacy degree program, characterized by a consistent curricular assessment and an outcomes approach that has retained optimal accreditation status and sustained high North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination pass rates;
• the growth of the nation’s first, largest and most respected graduate program in regulatory affairs and quality assurance, designed for working professionals in the pharmaceutical, biotech and device industries, as well as their complementary regulatory bodies, delivered through distance learning platforms;
• the creation of several specialty research facilities, foremost among which is the Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, a medicinal chemistry-based initiative established in 2009 through substantial support and an endowment pledge from alumni Lonnie and Sharon Moulder;
• the Temple University Drug Discovery Research Initiative involving a transformational investment by the university that has led to a strengthening of the school’s research profile, and which helped to form the operational base for the most recent creation of five new start-up companies based on intellectual property developed by several TUSP faculty; and
• the establishment of 50 endowed funds, 40 of which are for scholarships.