The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) will honor Robert L. Talbert, Pharm.D., B.S., professor of pharmacotherapy in the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin, for his excellence as a teacher, his outstanding achievements as an author and mentor, and his overall impact on pharmacy education and the profession.
He will receive the Robert K. Chalmers Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award on July 27 during the Opening General Session at the AACP Annual Meeting, Pharmacy Education 2014, in Grapevine, Texas.
Talbert said he is honored to receive the award, and that the greatest reward of his teaching career has been "seeing the accomplishments of former students, residents and fellows, many of whom have gone on to achieve national and international recognition." He added, "My advice to young pharmacy educators is to become passionate about learning, teaching and helping others, whether those others include patients, other professionals, learners or colleagues."
Over the course of his career, Talbert has been recognized as an outstanding teacher, author and mentor. He holds the SmithKline Centennial Professor of Pharmacy within the College of Pharmacy. He also holds an appointment as a professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He is responsible for didactic and clerkship teaching of baccalaureate and Pharm.D. students and supervises activities of these students on the medicine service at University Hospital in San Antonio. Talbert is a member of the Drug Usage Committee and the Cardiovascular Subcommittee of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee for University Hospital.
In 2007, Talbert was named recipient of the Russell R. Miller Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy for substantial contributions to the literature of clinical pharmacy. In 2006, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Heart Association's Texas Affiliate, and in 2005, he received the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' Sustained Contributions to the Literature Award and the UT College of Pharmacy Preceptor of the Year Award.
The author of more than 150 scientific and professional articles and book chapters, Talbert says his greatest legacy to pharmacy is his work as editor of Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiology Approach, soon to be released in its ninth edition. The book has been a required textbook in more than 90 percent of the schools of pharmacy in the United States and has been translated into several languages.
"It is rare that one finds a professor who truly challenges a student pharmacist to be the best possible pharmacist that she or he can possibly be. Bob possesses that rare ability," said M. Lynn Crismon, dean of the College of Pharmacy and one of Talbert's former students.
Talbert has been the major professor and/or program director for more than 40 mentees and has served on the supervisory committees for 40 additional students. Two of his students won best thesis awards from the University of Texas at Austin.
"Dr. Talbert is among those pharmacy faculty who initiated the transformation of pharmacy education and practice by first believing that pharmacists had a larger role in patient care and then developing the practices upon which the evidence base was built," said Dr. Lucinda L. Maine, executive vice president and CEO of AACP. "We are proud to recognize the many ways he has contributed to our profession and the Academy."
The award, named for the late Robert K. Chalmers, former AACP president and distinguished educator, consists of a Steuben glass owl sculpture and a monetary prize.
The 2014 AACP Annual Meeting will be held July 26-30 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. The conference offers educational programming, exhibits, networking events and award presentations.
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