Message from the President

Alan Kadish, MD
President
Touro College & University System

Dear Graduates,

Congratulations to the entire graduating class of 2021! It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the tenth commencement of the Touro College of Pharmacy. We regret that circumstances do not allow us to all be in one room together today, but we are certainly joined in spirit.

Today, we honor and celebrate the culmination of your hard work and your commitment to fulfilling your dreams. I am confident that you will continue to transform your aspirations into realities.

Touro College of Pharmacy provides an innovative educational environment that combines classroom instruction with experiential training. It is our hope that this unique approach to pharmaceutical education has prepared you with the skills necessary to succeed in a field that is rapidly and constantly evolving.

Your experiences here have also been enriched by Touro’s strong ties to the Harlem neighborhood. In the pursuit of our mission to educate and model the values of compassion, service and social justice, I am confident that we have instilled in you a commitment to serve humankind. You are ambassadors of our institution, and your service to your communities attests to the values of our mission. Now is the time to apply all the knowledge and skills you have learned at Touro and live with passion and purpose.

As alumni, you are members of the Touro family. I invite you to join us in alumni activities, stay connected and share your stories of success so that we may continue to take pride in your achievements. You will always remain a part of Touro’s legacy and future.

Best wishes,

Alan Kadish, MD

Message from the Dean

Henry Cohen, PharmD, MSc, FCCM, BCPP, BCGP
Dean and Professor, Touro College of Pharmacy

Dear Members of the Class of 2021,

Congratulations on completing your Doctor of Pharmacy at the Touro College of Pharmacy. You have earned a distinction with your hard work and dedication, and an achievement of which you and your family can be justly proud, wherever your future careers take you. You are talented and passionate, and you have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to education, community and professional service and patient-centered care.

You will soon join the ranks of one of the most trusted and rewarding professions. You are the only healthcare professionals dedicated to the intricacies of drug products handling and preparation, and the sophistication of drug mechanisms, actions and uses. You are the medication experts and essential members of the healthcare team.

The hardest times teach us the most valuable lessons. You have come to maturity at a transformative time for our world and our profession. You have lived through a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. You have persevered through the extraordinary disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, in your personal lives, your professional lives, and in your education. Many of you have served on the front lines of the COVID-19 battle, conducting surveillance tests in community pharmacies, administering vaccines, compounding hand sanitizers, designing pharmacotherapy algorithms, participating in research, counseling, and advising patients. In the years to come people may well say this was our profession’s finest hour – of which you were an integral part.

The vaccines are here now, and there is finally reason for optimism. You are emerging into a transformed profession, with pharmacists’ roles and responsibilities increasing, and with their talents and contributions to the health care team more and more recognized and appreciated.

Now is your time! The extensive education and training you have received from the College’s dedicated and passionate faculty have prepared you for a new world of opportunities - in community pharmacy, long-term care, ambulatory and in-patient settings, drug information, public health, research, management, marketing, sales, pharmaceutical industry, pharmacogenomics and more. Whatever path you choose, we are confident that you will be successful pharmacists prepared to practice at the top of your license.

Remember too that the distinction you have achieved today carries with it great responsibilities. Always be mindful of the mission of the College, to promote wellness, especially among the underserved populations around the corner and across the globe, to contribute to scientific knowledge and to improve the profession. As you provide compassionate patient care, and share your knowledge; as you maximize patient safety, and advance the profession through research and service, your reputation, and the reputation of our College will continue to grow, your achievements will inspire our future students, and patient by patient and project by project, the world will become a better place.

This is also the beginning of what we hope will be a lifelong relationship. We look forward to you sharing your knowledge and experience with our students and serving as preceptors, mentors and speakers at College events. We will always be here for you and hope you will return often. We are most proud of you and look forward to your career accomplishments. You are outstanding College of Pharmacy alumni; we are excited that you are part of the Touro family and delighted to welcome you as members of the profession.

Sincerely,

Henry Cohen, PharmD, MSc, FCCM, BCPP, BCGP

Message from the Provost

Patricia E. Salkin, JD
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost for the Graduate and Professional Divisions

Dear Members of the Class of 2021,

On behalf of the Administration of Touro College, it is a pleasure to congratulate you and your families on your accomplishments, and an honor to be a part of this special day. While many refer to the event as a “Graduation Ceremony,” I prefer the word “Commencement,” because it signals that this is not the end but a beginning. You have sacrificed and worked hard to get to this point, and now you are on the threshold of a professional career where you will have the opportunity to contribute to our society in countless important and meaningful ways by virtue of the distinction you have earned.

Scripture teaches us that to whom much is given, much is required. The privilege of becoming a licensed pharmacist also carries important responsibilities that you have learned about and prepared for throughout your Touro College of Pharmacy career. Remember why you chose Touro and why Touro chose you – a focus on public health, cultural sensitivity, and community service – and a commitment to, among other things, serving under-resourced communities and providing outreach and education about preventive care locally and globally. When you leave here today, we know that you will take seriously these ideals and commitments and put them into practice in whatever professional setting you choose.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed our world, pharmacy education and the pharmacy profession along with it. Pharmacists have taken on greater responsibilities on the front lines of the pandemic, have become an increasingly integral part of research and patient care teams, and have solidified their role as the most accessible and trusted source of health care information. Now is your time. We are confident that as professionals, you will play leadership roles in the future directions of the profession, in health care, government regulation, the advancement of research and science and service to the public.

We look forward to learning of your successes, and invite you to continue your relationship with Touro as mentors, presenters, preceptors, and members of our growing alumni community. We hope you will return often; we will always be here for you.

Sincerely,

Patricia E. Salkin, JD

Message from the Executive Team

Dear Members of the Class of 2021,

Congratulations on this major accomplishment and significant milestone in your life! You have built your fortitude and resilience in these challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are confident that as you leave the Touro College of Pharmacy, you are prepared for your life’s journey as a pharmacist. We know that the education and experiences you have received here have helped you grow intellectually, professionally and personally. With the guidance and advice of administration, faculty and staff, you have worked hard to build a solid foundation on which to establish your career. TCOP’s curriculum has provided you a unique vision with abilities and conviction to be a lifelong learner. We are sure you will use these professional and clinical skills to provide outstanding health care to those you will be serving in the years to come.

As you begin the next phase in your life, remember that you will always have a home and family here at the Touro College of Pharmacy. We hope you will stay connected to the College, to the professors who have mentored you and to the friends with whom you have shared your educational journey.

We wish you the very best,

Abraham M. Jeger, PhD, Chief Operating Officer and Associate Dean, Student Affairs

Martin Brown, MS, RPh, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs

Zvi Loewy, PhD, Associate Dean, Research

Heidi Fuchs, BS, Assistant Dean, Admissions and Enrollment Management

Cheuk (Michael) Liu, PharmD, Assistant Dean, Clinical and Professional Affairs

Batoul Senhaji-Tomza, PharmD, MPH, Assistant Dean, Curriculum

Bupendra Shah, PhD, Assistant Dean, Assessment

Nelly Adel, PharmD, Chair, Pharmacy Practice

Sidhartha Ray, PhD, Interim Chair, Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Science

Elizabeth Unni, PhD, MBA, BPharm, Chair, Social, Behavioral and Administrative Sciences