University Community Welcomes Bruce Mueller as Pharmacy Interim Dean
Bruce A. Mueller, PharmD, began his term as Interim Dean of the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy on July 1. He will serve in this role until a permanent dean is appointed.
“I am pleased that Bruce Mueller has agreed to serve as interim dean of the College of Pharmacy,” says Interim Provost Susan Collins. “He is a distinguished scholar and educator with years of experience as a faculty member and an administrator, given his service as a department chair and the associate dean for academic affairs. He has a long and distinguished record of service to the University and the pharmacy community. I am confident that the College will maintain its momentum during this interim period.”
Dean Mueller received the BS degree in pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1984 and his PharmD degree from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1988. He began his academic career at Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy in 1988. In 2000, Dean Mueller joined the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy.
Pharmacy students and alumni note Dean Mueller’s commitment to helping students succeed and making the College a better place, and the warmth and consideration he shows those with whom he interacts.
“Dean Mueller has been a tremendous help to me my two years at the College of Pharmacy,” says Christopher Codd, PharmD’22. “Whether I need help with picking classes, getting a job, or finding someone to shadow, he always helps me out. This past October I was looking for a nuclear pharmacist to shadow, and did not know where to look. He immediately began asking around and helped me find someone within days.”
“Dean Mueller is an amazing ‘pharmdad,’” says Mai Thao Vy Nguyen, PharmD’21. “He is inspiring and a role-model, someone that I admire. I lost count on how many times he help me during my pharmacy school years. I cannot say thank you enough for what he has done for the College of Pharmacy and for me personally. I am proud to be a part of his pharmacy phamily and I believe he will make the College of Pharmacy even better than ever.”
“I was happy to hear that Dean Mueller was selected to be interim Dean because he has always shown an interest in all the students at the College and ensuring we receive the best possible education,” notes Michael Maranets, PharmD’22. “At one of the lunches with the deans, my classmates and I had brought up concerns about our community IPPEs. Dean Mueller took the time to look into it and reached out to me with an answer to my question about the scheduling process. I think all my classmates have similar stories of him taking the time to address their individual concerns about courses, exams or other academic matters. I appreciate his attention to detail.”
"I was on an APPE rotation in Washington D.C. and needed a pep talk before a big networking event, I knew exactly who to call,” explains Gillian Leung, PharmD’19. “Dean Mueller dropped what he was doing to talk me through how to best present myself and show the Michigan difference. He cares about his students and the care extends beyond graduation. Most recently, I was touched to get his email of support during the pandemic. Having Dean Mueller as a mentor and phamily dad is one of the best experiences I had at the College. His caring, dedicated, supportive demeanor makes him one of the most well respected faculty members at the College. I have full confidence that Dean Mueller will excel in his new position. With his leadership, we will continue to be the leader and the best.”
“From day one, it was clear that Dean Mueller was invested in me as a student and I felt a sense of immediate community in the College,” recalls Anna Koseck, PharmD’18. “Over the years, I noticed he had the ability to create that sense of belonging in every student. At our fun pharmacy phamily events, he would make it a point to bring a quieter person into a conversation or to spark a conversation between two students who had never met before. It is clear that he values the diverse qualities and experiences of every single student in the College.”
“I've only known Dean Mueller for a year, but he welcomed me and my fellow P1 with open arms into his "BAM pham" (BAM = Bruce A. Mueller). I'm fortunate to have gotten such a caring faculty lead and think of him as a father of sorts,” says Cortney Cathey, PharmD’23. “He is one of the few people who have forced me to seriously consider where I want my future to go and I cannot thank him enough for it. His compassion for others extends beyond our phamily, an example of which is the financial literacy course he designed specifically with Pharmacy students in mind. In my (biased) opinion, he's the funniest and coolest faculty member in the whole College and will even call me ‘daughter’ when I refer to him as ‘father/phather.’ I couldn't be more proud of all he has and will accomplish.”
