Fassett Named WSU Pharmacy College Dean

PULLMAN, Wash. — William E. Fassett, professor and chair of Drake University’s
Department of Pharmacy Practice, has been named dean of Washington State University’s
College of Pharmacy.
Fassett, who has been with the Iowa university for five years, previously was a member of
the University of Washington’s School of Pharmacy faculty, and coordinated its Professional
Experience Programs.
In making the appointment that becomes effective July 1, 1999, WSU Provost Gretchen
Bataille said the new dean brings well-rounded experiences of the field to the administrative post.
“Bill Fassett has a broad-based background with degrees in pharmacy, higher education and
business,” Bataille said. “His previous experience in the state of Washington will serve him well
in meeting the needs for pharmacy education as well as the initiatives that are a part of the Health
Sciences Consortium in Spokane.
“He has had both academic and industry experience, and will be instrumental in developing
partnerships between WSU and the medical community for both education and research,” the
provost said.
The new dean will have offices on the Pullman campus and at WSU Spokane.
Fassett said the WSU pharmacy college is well positioned for the future.
“Washington is one of the two to three best places in American to practice pharmacy,”
Fassett said, crediting the state’s Pharmacy Practice Act, the strong state pharmacy association
and pharmacists’ good relations with the two university pharmacy programs.
WSU has long been recognized for training people in active practices and its graduates are
well known as leaders nationally, the dean added. There has long been strong alumni support for
the college.
“WSU can become the best place in the country to earn a pharmacy degree,” Fassett said.
“We have excellent training sites in Pullman, Spokane and other locations.”
“Its research strengths, too, help poise the college for even greater things,” he added.
Fassett earned his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Washington. His
MBA in marketing and information systems management was awarded by the University of
Puget Sound. His doctoral degree from the University of Washington is in educational
leadership and policy studies.
He has served as a community pharmacist in both Washington and Iowa.
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