Bruce Benson, MS, PhD
Titles
Education
Residency, Veterans Admissions Hospital
PhD in Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota
Master of Hospital Pharmacy, University of Minnesota
MTS, Wesley Theological Seminary
Bachelor of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota - College of Pharmacy
Biography
Bio
S. Bruce Benson is Associate Director of Professional Relations at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. Dr. Benson has been at the University of Minnesota since 1975, where he has been involved in student affairs, community pharmacy externship, outreach/alumni and teaching activities. He has taught courses dealing with counseling, death and loss, orientation to pharmacy and mentoring, and he has lectured on chemical dependency, chronic pain, counseling and dealing with loss. For nearly a decade he supervised a clinical rotation on chronic pain at the Sister Kenny Institute Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program in Minneapolis. He currently supervises the College mentoring course for first professional year pharmacy students. In addition, he advised the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy’s student governing body, and he formerly advised the Epsilon Chapter of Kappa Psi (1976-1987). He also is past Executive Secretary of the Minnesota Graduate Chapter of Kappa Psi.
Benson possesses a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (1963), Master of Science in Hospital Pharmacy (1965), and Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology (1996) degrees from the University of Minnesota. The latter degree was obtained through the University’s Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology Program within the Educational Psychology Department, with his thesis addressing the broad topic of alcohol education. He also has a Master of Theological Studies (1978) degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, he was a pharmacy resident at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Minneapolis, and he worked for the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health and the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists.
Benson currently serves on the advisory committee for the state of Minnesota’s Health Professional Services Program, which he chaired from 1998-2002. Between 1995-1998, he was president –elect, president and past president of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association. He also has served as MPhA’s speaker of the house, and he received its Harold R. Popp Award for outstanding service. He was chair of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy’s centennial celebration between 1989-1992. Benson has received both the Outstanding Pharmacist Award and the Hallie Bruce Lecture Award from the Minnesota Society of Health-System Pharmacists. In addition, he was the College’s Roche Institutional Preceptor of the Year in 2001, and he was the Regional Councilor of the Rho Chi Society from 1999-2001. He received the Pharmacy Alumni Society’s (Minnesota) Distinguished Pharmacist Award in 2003, the University of Minnesota’s President Award for Outstanding Service in 2004, and the Weaver Medal from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy in 2007.
Dr. Benson is a member of the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the International Pharmaceutical Federation and Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, as well as several state and local organizations.
Awards & Recognition
- Weaver Medal Recipient - University of Minnesota, 2008
- President's Award for Outstanding Service - University of Minnesota, 2004
- Distinguished Pharmacist Award - Pharmacy Alumni Society University of Minnesota, 2003
- Roche Institutional Preceptor of the Year - University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, 2001
- Hallie Bruce Lecture Award - Minnesota Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1999-2000
- Outstanding Pharmacist Award - Minnesota Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 1999
- Harold R. Popp Memorial Award, Minnesota Pharmacists Association, 1988
Research Summary
- Helping the Chronic Pain Patient
- Alcoholism and Chemical Dependency Among Pharmacists and Pharmacy Students
- Counseling of Pharmacy Students
- Dealing with Death and Dying