School of Pharmacy's Arthur I. Jacknowitz one of four faithful Mountaineers in 2015 Order of Vandalia
There are Mountaineers. And then there are Mountaineers with an extra dose of gold-and-blue shooting through their veins. Those sorts of devout Mountaineers wind up in West Virginia University’s Order of Vandalia, an award given annually to the most loyal servants of the University.
For the 2015 class, Arthur I. Jacknowitz, former chair of the WVU School of Pharmacy's Department of Clinical Pharmacy, is one of four people who have been selected. The other three are J. William “Bill" Douglas, former dean of the School of Physical Education; John Fisher II, former dean of the College of Law; and Kenneth D. Gray, former vice president of Student Affairs.
Beyond their time at the University, each honoree has shown boundless support by serving various roles and/or providing financial support. The Order of Vandalia has been presented annually since 1961.
Jacknowitz is the Arthur I. Jacknowitz Distinguished Chair Emeritus in Clinical Pharmacy at WVU. He was chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy from 1985 until 2001. Previously, he was director of the WVU Drug Information Center, his initial faculty appointment in 1974. In 1988 his efforts in drug information dissemination to consumers and health professionals statewide was recognized with the University’s Heebink Award for Outstanding State Service.
Author or coauthor of more than 100 scientific and technical articles and abstracts, and as many presentations, Jacknowitz was a monthly columnist for several years for the U.S. Pharmacist, a recipient of the Merck, Sharp and Dohme Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Profession of Pharmacy, and a member of the editorial board of the Drug Information Journal for more than a quarter of a century. He also served as a member of the board of directors of the Drug Information Association. In 1996, the Drug Information Association recognized his service to the Association by awarding him its Outstanding Service Award.
He was the author of the chapter on musculoskeletal injuries and disorders in four editions of the Handbook of Non-Prescription Drugs. He served two five-year terms, from 2000-2010, as a member of the United States Pharmacopeia Convention’s Gastroenterology Expert Committee.
Jacknowitz is one of only 22 healthcare professionals nationwide to serve on the 2010-2015 Medicare Model Guidelines Expert Panel, where he and his colleagues on the panel were the recipients of the 2011 USP’s Award for an Innovative Response to a Public Health Challenge.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy recently reappointed Jacknowitz to a seventh three-year term on its Licensure Test Review Committee. He is one of only 25 pharmacy practitioners and educators nationwide to achieve this recognition.
Jacknowitz has served as academic advisor to more than 260 pre-pharmacy and pharmacy honors students during the past decade, and, in recognition of his sustained efforts, was named the Honors College Faculty Advisor of 2012.
To recognize his teaching, scholarship and service for more than a quarter century to WVU, a former student endowed a Distinguished Chair in his honor in 2001, and he was named the first occupant of the Arthur I. Jacknowitz Chair in Clinical Pharmacy. He was inducted into the WVU Health Sciences Center Academy of Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2012. In 2004, the WVU School of Pharmacy Alumni Association conferred honorary alumnus status on him. In addition, he was named the Most Loyal Faculty Mountaineer. Finally, in 2005, The Dominion Post recognized him as one of the 100 most influential citizens in Morgantown.
He retired at the end of the 2012 academic year after 38 years of service to WVU. He remains connected to the Morgantown community, School of Pharmacy and the greater University. He volunteers as a pharmacist-provider at Mylan Puskar Health Right, a free community clinic for underinsured low-income area residents. At the School of Pharmacy, he is a student mentor and coordinates its student ambassador program. The program’s goal is to utilize Doctor of Pharmacy students to return to their high schools or college pre-pharmacy programs to encourage the best and brightest students to apply to WVU’s School of Pharmacy.
Jacknowitz is a member of the Faculty Senate, representing retired faculty. Additionally, he was selected to serve on the newly formed WVU Retirees Association Steering Committee. In 2014, he was one of the keynote speakers at the Association’s launch. He is one of 12 members of the inaugural class of WVU Art Museum docents.