Interim dean achieved dream of being a pharmacist. Now she helps students do the same

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Dr. Pamela Moye stands in front of the College of Pharmacy. She is wearing a black top, her arms are crossed, and she is smiling.
Dr. Pamela Moye began her tenure as interim dean of the College of Pharmacy on Aug. 1. Photo by Paula Heller

Dr. Pamela Moye knew she wanted to be a pharmacist as a little girl growing up in rural North Carolina.

“I would go to the pharmacy with my grandmother and watch Mr. Hood, our local pharmacist, care for her. She was on Medicaid, and he always navigated her care, filling all her prescriptions even if she couldn’t pay,” Dr. Moye said. “Mr. Hood showed me the vital role pharmacists play in the community. I like to say that an old white man inspired a young Black girl to become a pharmacist when she grew up.”

That journey has led her to become the interim dean of Mercer University’s College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Moye earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She then completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Georgia. After graduation, she pursued a residency at Duke University Hospital and then a specialty residency in internal medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. In 2007, she joined the faculty at Mercer’s College of Pharmacy.

“We’re all teachers and healers, whether at the patient’s bedside, in the classroom or administration,” she said. “I look forward to helping our faculty, staff and students achieve and working with the University on a larger scale.”

Her passion lies in teaching and connecting with students. Dr. Moye often engages with current and prospective students in the new Tony and Nancy Moye Pharmacy and Health Sciences Center (no relation to the building’s namesake).

“I love it when you see that light turn on for students — the moment when they finally get it. But it’s not all about the classroom. At the end of this, our students will take care of patients and impact lives. We want to encourage them and let them know they can do this,” she said.

Dr. Moye previously served as the chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice. She has received the College of Pharmacy’s Distinguished Educator Award and the Excellence in Service Award.

She is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist and a 2023 fellow of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s academic leadership program. In 2019, Dr. Moye completed the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Foundation’s mentored research investigator training program. Her research interests include heart failure management, global health and care transitions.

Dr. Moye assumed leadership of the College of Pharmacy on Aug. 1, following Dr. Brian L. Crabtree’s retirement. The University is currently conducting a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.

 

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