ART JACKNOWITZ INDUCTED INTO THE WVU 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. Among those in the 2015 class, is our own Art Jacknowitz who has made a lasting influence on WVU. Since 1961, the Vandalia Society has presented this honor to those inductees that have shown boundless support by serving in various roles and/or providing financial support.

About Arthur I. Jacknowitz
Arthur I. Jacknowitz is professor and Distinguished Chair Emeritus in Clinical Pharmacy at WVU. He was chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy for almost 16 years, from 1985-2001. 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, he 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. He 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 him 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. He has served as a member of the editorial advisory board of Rodale Press and Prevention Magazine. In 1996 he was chosen as a Lady Davis Visiting Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and spent a semester there as a member in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmaceutics. He 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 addition, his alma mater has recognized his achievements by naming him a distinguished alumnus of Long Island University’s Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy at their 2002 commencement ceremony. He also served as keynote speaker at the college’s 2012 Rho Chi Induction Ceremony. 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, Morgantown’s 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. He 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.