The dean of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy said Friday that he will step down at the end of the year.
The dean of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy said Friday that he will step down at the end of the year.
John Pezzuto, who helped launch the college at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 2006, is moving on to the Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York, where he will serve as professor and dean.
Pezzuto announced his decision Friday morning in an email to friends and co-workers.
“It has been a privilege helping you build this college over the past several years,” he wrote. “I am proud of our progress and I am confident the future is bright. … I will certainly do everything I can to assure a smooth transition.”
In an emailed statement sent Friday afternoon, UH-Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney credited Pezzuto with getting the pharmacy program off the ground.
“The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy is a testimonial to John’s outstanding leadership as he worked tirelessly with the University and the community to fulfill Senator Inouye’s vision,” he said.
Pezzuto said he anticipated a nationwide search would soon be announced to recruit a new dean for the college.
“Presented with funding for the new building, a good fiscal plan, and solid standing with the (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education), I am sure the next dean will have no trouble whatsoever moving the college along to the next levels of excellence,” the email reads.
Over the past several years, Pezzuto has expressed impatience with the state Legislature as he and other college supporters fought to expand the school and its programs, including efforts to fully fund a building for the program. Currently, students, staff and faculty are spread among a number of temporary buildings, labs and classrooms across the UH-Hilo campus.
Despite support from Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the building project failed to win support from legislators last year, putting the school’s accreditation in jeopardy. This year, legislators appropriated $33 million for the building after the college pared down its plans. The original version of the building, designed by Hilo native and architect Rob Iopa, who also designed the building for UH-Hilo’s College of Hawaiian Language, called for as much as $120 million in funding.
Pezzuto said in a phone interview Friday afternoon that while it had been trying at times to work with the Legislature, he felt it was an important process to go through.
“In retrospect, it was a process that was necessary for everyone to do their due diligence. … I feel now that the college is well poised for the future. I would feel less comfortable with this move if the college wasn’t in that position. It basically allows me to move ahead with a clearer conscience,” he said.
He added that he hopes to continue to be involved with the Hilo College of Pharmacy, perhaps through an adjunct professorship.
Pezzuto took on the role of dean in Hilo at a time when there was “no assurance of a future,” according to the college’s release, with no offices, no staff and no students.
“He methodically assembled a staff of world-renowned faculty who would build the school into what is now a contender for one of the top 25 ranked colleges in the U.S.,” the release states.
Prior to joining UH-Hilo, Pezzuto served as professor and dean of the College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences at Purdue University. He has been supported by the National Institutes of Health continuously since 1977. He is the author of more than 500 manuscripts, editor of the journal Pharmaceutical Biology and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.