Members of the Class of 2026 at East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy received their doctoral hoods on Friday, officially becoming part of the college’s 17th graduating class.
The Hooding and Commencement ceremony was held at the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts, where 36 student pharmacists crossed the stage to accept their Doctor of Pharmacy degree, part of ETSU’s commencement weekend.
Dr. Debbie Byrd, dean of ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, thanked the graduating class for the mark they left on the college, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary this academic year.
“We are so pleased you chose to go on the journey to become a pharmacist with us,” said Byrd. “You made this college your own, and you’re leaving it a better college of pharmacy than the one you found.”
Byrd also praised their efforts to improve the opioid crisis, as well as their success in leadership and student organizations.
Members of the graduating class helped the college’s American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) Operation Substance Use Disorders (SUDS) win top honors for combating prescription drug misuse, which was recently named the No. 1 program in the country – the 13th consecutive year they’ve been recognized nationally or regionally.
That commitment to supporting the region is one of the many reasons ETSU is the flagship institution of Appalachia and a premier health sciences university in Tennessee.
ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland praised the Class of 2026 for their accomplishments.
"Year after year, Gatton College of Pharmacy receives national recognition for academic excellence," said Noland. "You are graduating from a truly elite pharmacy school, and each of you has contributed toward Gatton’s stellar reputation and outstanding achievements."
Fourth-year student Mackenzie Johnson spoke on behalf of the graduating class.
In addition to the doctoral hooding, several individual awards were presented, including the Pharmacy Valedictorian Achievement Award, which went to Lucy Eier, who achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA with the highest numerical grade.
The Academic Achievement, awarded to graduates with a perfect 4.0 GPA, includes Abby Choate, Whitley Cooper and Christina Tarasidis Pitchford.
Pitchford, from Radford, Virginia, was also awarded the prestigious U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award, one of 85 student pharmacists across the country to receive the award.
Other awards included the college’s Patient Care Award to Cooper; the Gary Mabrey Community Service Award to Pitchford; the Guy B. Wilson Jr. Leadership Award to Johnson; the Viatris Institute of Pharmacy Excellence in Pharmacy Award to Mallory Carberry; the Merck Award to Jordan Strauss; and the Baeteena M. Black Leadership Award to Carolina Davis.
The reception was sponsored by Food City Pharmacy.
This ceremony was livestreamed at youtube.com/@etsupharmacy for those unable to attend. Learn more about the college at etsu.edu/pharmacy.
