For Judi Jacobi, PharmD, and Jim Mowry, PharmD, the Jacobi and Mowry Pharmacy Practice Transformation Fund at the College of Pharmacy is a way to give back to the college and the profession that has given them so many opportunities
While Judi Jacobi, a 1981 PharmD graduate, and Jim Mowry, a 1979 PharmD graduate, retired in 2019 after nearly four decades in pharmacy, they remain closely involved and engaged in the profession.
Through the Jacobi and Mowry Pharmacy Practice Transformation Fund at the College of Pharmacy, their gift has provided seed money for programs that foster innovation and enhance career development for students, alumni, and practicing pharmacists. They have also included a gift in their estate plan to permanently endow the fund.
Jacobi worked at several hospitals throughout her career after finishing a critical care residency. Most recently, she served as a critical care clinical pharmacist at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital—a large, academic teaching hospital. “There I experienced hospital pharmacy from a number of different perspectives,” said Jacobi. “When I started, I was the only critical care pharmacist in the whole hospital. I helped to build a staff of 24/7 critical care and emergency medicine pharmacy coverage, and a critical care pharmacy residency training program through amazing support of leadership and the medical staff.”
After earning his PharmD, Mowry directed the Indiana Poison Center for 38 years. “My career path was convoluted,” said Mowry. “I was planning to be a clinical pharmacist and when that job fell through, I went with one of my classmates to do a toxicology residency in Tennessee and then moved to Oklahoma to work in a medical ICU. When a position opened in Indianapolis to run the poison center at Wishard Memorial Hospital half-time, I took it, and we grew from a staff of five to 20 over time.” Mowry has also precepted more than 150 pharmacy students and residents rotating through a Medical Toxicology rotation.
“Pharmacy as a career has been really good to us,” said Jacobi. “We have been so happy to work in situations where we could readily advance practice locally and we both evolved professionally in the field.”
For Mowry, the gift is one way to encourage innovation and enhance career development. “We were able to practice at the top of our license,” he said. “We want to try and help move the profession forward, especially for pharmacists in non-urban settings who are doing good things for their communities and may not have the resources or backing like those in urban, larger practice settings. It’s seed funding to do innovative practices.”
The impact of their gift is measurable today. “We really wanted to make a gift that was going to be impactful on a broad scale and we’ve already been able to see the fruits of that investment,” said Jacobi.