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The College of Pharmacy recently celebrated the promotions of Dwight Pierce, left, Eddie Dunn, Jacob Painter and Antino Allen.

College of Pharmacy Faculty Promoted, Celebrated

Dec. 19, 2019 | The UAMS College of Pharmacy recently celebrated the promotions of four faculty members:

• Jacob Painter, Pharm.D., from assistant professor to associate professor with tenure in the Department of Pharmacy Practice.
• Eddie Dunn, Pharm.D., from associate professor to professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice.
• Antino Allen, Ph.D., from assistant professor to associate professor in Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Radiation Health.
• Dwight Pierce, Ph.D., from associate professor to professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

College of Pharmacy Dean Cindy Stowe, Pharm.D., opened the celebration, congratulated each of them and introduced speakers.

“Eddie is truly known as the face of the College of Pharmacy, especially by students and alumni,” said Amy Franks, Pharm.D., associate professor and chair of the UAMS College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Practice. “He teaches a tremendous number of hours so students are constantly coming in to talk to him. Some of it is about the coursework, but also how to engage professionally or ‘Hey, I’ve got this issue.’ He’s counselor and cheerleader.”

Peter Crooks, Ph.D., D.Sc., professor and chair of the UAMS College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, said Allen joined the College of Pharmacy in 2013 and moved quickly to establish himself as an independent researcher. During this period he trained and graduated an impressive number of graduate students, and took on the important position as director of the Pharmaceutical Sciences track in the COP Graduate Program.

Pierce received praise from Crooks for his teaching skills and ability to connect with students. In 2016, the student body voted to honor Pierce with the Ro Chi Teacher of the Year Award, and in 2018, he was selected by the students for the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Outstanding Faculty Award for being the educator who encourages them to be the best pharmacists they can be and who goes above and beyond for all pharmacy students.

“I think Jacob Painter is the model for Pharmacy Practice faculty members on the tenure track,” Franks said. “He teaches a tremendous amount. He coordinates and teaches the bulk of our pharmacy management course as well as our graduate course in pharmaco-epidemiology. He does things that are really visible for us and has this really successful research career, too.”