SPOKANE, Wash. – Linda Garrelts MacLean, a leader in pharmacy education, policy and business, has been named interim dean of the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Garrelts MacLean is currently the college’s vice dean for external relations and clinical professor. She will begin transitioning into her new role this month and will become interim dean in August when Dean Gary Pollack steps down. Pollack announced he will leave WSU to become dean of the pharmacy college at the University of Toledo, Ohio.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Pollack for his many years of leadership at WSU,” said university Provost Daniel Bernardo. “We’re fortunate that the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has Linda Garrelts MacLean, a talented and respected pharmacy professional, to lead the college after his departure.”
Garrelts MacLean has been affiliated with WSU since the late 1980s. She worked with WSU pharmacy students as co‑owner of Jones Pharmacy, a community fixture, before joining the faculty in 2002. She has held numerous leadership positions in the pharmacy profession, including president of the Washington State Pharmacy Association and trustee of the American Pharmacists Association, and has been a director and committee chair in the International Pharmaceutical Federation and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. She is the recipient of many professional honors including induction as a Fellow of the American College of Apothecaries.
“Linda Garrelts MacLean has demonstrated achievement in both pharmacy education and the pharmacy business,” said Daryll DeWald, chancellor of WSU Health Sciences. “She has insight into the real‑world challenges faced by our pharmacy students, many of whom will go on to careers as community pharmacists. As a member of our faculty, she has a record of academic research and accomplishment.”
Garrelts MacLean will become the first woman to lead the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in its 128‑year history.
“I’m honored to be named interim dean,” she said. “I’ve spent my career trying to advance pharmacy practice while assuring our future pharmacists and scientists are ready to create and deliver healthcare solutions. What matters to me most is creating relationships and opportunities for our student pharmacists and our graduate students to support their success.”
Dr. John Tomkowiak, founding dean of the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, will chair the search committee for a permanent dean. WSU expects to launch a national search this summer.
