Dean's Leading by Example Lecture Series

The Irrepressible Human Spirit; Thriving after a Serious Illness will be presented by Dr. W. Thomas Smith, PharmD, JD, Dean of  Pharmacy Programs and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manchester University. 

Dean W. Thomas “Tommy” Smith is a 1994 graduate of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.  He began his pharmacy career as the operations director of Corum Health Services, Inc., a long-term care pharmacy in St. Louis, Missouri.  In 2002, he enrolled in law school at St. Louis University, and graduated in 2005 with a Juris Doctorate degree and certificate in health law from the school’s top-ranked Center for Health Law Studies.  Smith served on the faculty of Saint Louis College of Pharmacy from 2005 to 2008 and of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy from 2008 to 2015.  At the University of Florida, among other things, he served as the director of the College’s online master’s program in pharmaceutical outcomes and policy and director of the co-curriculum.  In May 2015, Smith joined Manchester University College of Pharmacy as the assistant dean for assessment and accreditation, and then was appointed dean of  pharmacy programs in May 2017. Dean Smith is also active in a number of professional organizations including the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the American Bar Association (ABA) and the American Society for Pharmacy Law (ASPL). Among his notable service accomplishments, he has served as chair of AACP’s Health Disparities and Cultural Competence special interest group and completed its Academic Leadership Fellows Program. Smith has also been very active in both the Health Law Section of the ABA – serving a 3-year term on its leadership council and chairing a number of committees. In 2016, he was appointed to the federal Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee. Dean Smith has served as an author, speaker and leader in areas such as pharmacy law, cultural competency, health disparities, bioethics, and disability law.