Students earn national honors at 2025 American Pharmacists Association annual meeting
Lipscomb’s APhA student chapter named top in the nation, Annaston Young one of four students in the country honored with leadership award.
Kim Chaudoin |
The Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy brought home three national awards and additional accolades from the 2025 American Pharmacists Association (APhA) annual meeting that took place in Nashville over the weekend.
For the first time in university history, Lipscomb won the national APhA student chapter of the year award. This is the top award given by the organization and is a prestigious honor.
“I am so proud of our student pharmacists. These awards are a reflection of the hard work and service-commitment that has always been a focus of this program,” said Tom Campbell, dean of the College of Pharmacy. “It is truly remarkable to be recognized alongside some of the largest and most prestigious pharmacy colleges in the nation. Again, it is a testament to incredible students and the best faculty advisors.”
“A lot of appreciation goes out to Dr. Sarah Uroza and Dr. Justin Kirby for their mentorship with the chapter,” he continued. “All of these awards are great, and we value them, but at the end of the day the best part of these awards is knowing that they benefit patient care. Ultimately, that is why we are here.”
For the past three years, Lipscomb's chapter was named the Division AAA Chapter Achievement Winner. The divisions are based on enrollment and the AAA award is the top honor given to Colleges of Pharmacy with an enrollment of fewer than 220 students. The national Chapter of the Year is awarded to the best overall chapter, regardless of enrollment.
In addition to National Chapter of the Year honors, Lipscomb was the national first-place winner in the Operation Heart and Operation Reproductive Health awareness campaign categories. The college’s 22 events for Operation Heart focused on smoking cessation, cholesterol management, and blood pressure management. These events led to 507 patient screenings and over 1500 individuals educated on these heart-related issues. The College held 48 events for cancer/disease prevention for Operation Reproductive Health which educated over 1400 individuals. Also, in the Pharmflix category, Lipscomb was named best overall.
Lipscomb's APhA student chapter was national runner-up in the Operation Immunization and Operation Diabetes awareness campaign categories. In Operation Immunization the College administered 5000 immunizations and provided education and screening to over 2000 individuals on diabetes awareness and prevention campaigns.
Lipscomb was also selected as the regional winner in the Operation Substance Use Disorder category. The College provided 22 substance use disorder training events, including naloxone training which led to 900 screenings and over 2700 individuals educated on this important health issue.
In individual honors, P3 student pharmacist Annaston Young received a Student Leadership Award. Only four students in the entire country receive this award, established in 1983, to recognize outstanding students’ academic achievement and leadership ability in APhA at the local, regional and national levels. She was also appointed to the national membership engagement standing committee for 2025-26. This school year, Young was also selected to participate in the highly competitive 2024-2025 cohort of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Aspiring Academics Program. Young is one of just 28 students nationwide chosen for the program, which aims to cultivate the next generation of pharmacy educators.
Also participating in the national organization, P4 Emily Gunselman is currently serving on the membership engagement standing committee for the 2024-25 school year.
Earlier this year, Lipscomb University announced its expansion of its College of Pharmacy with the launch of a new online Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) pathway to meet a growing demand in the pharmacy workforce, pending approval from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Lipscomb’s online PharmD pathway is only the second in Tennessee and one of only 14 in the nation.
Lipscomb’s online Pharm.D. pathway is designed to meet the growing demand for highly skilled pharmacists by offering a flexible, innovative option for students seeking a rigorous and comprehensive education. The pathway includes both asynchronous and synchronous online coursework with in-person immersions for labs and experiential learning, ensuring hands-on proficiency with cohorts beginning each August. This new offering complements Lipscomb’s highly regarded traditional, on-campus Pharm.D. pathways that have August and January entry points. For more information about the College of Pharmacy, visit www.lipscomb.edu/pharmacy.