ATLANTA – Mercer University awarded the honorary doctor of science degree to Dennis K. Helling, executive director of Kaiser Permanente’s pharmacy operations and therapeutics, at the Southern School of Pharmacy commencement on May 7. Mercer University President R. Kirby Godsey made the presentation after Helling gave the commencement address.
At Kaiser Permanente, Helling’s pharmacy department employs more than 650 staff at its 24 pharmacies, emphasizing expanded roles for pharmacists and ambulatory clinical services.
A fellow of both the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Helling is an adjoint [sic] professor with the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy. The immediate past president of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, he currently serves on the Argus Commission of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ Advisory Panel on Population-Based Medication Use and the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Center for Clinical Care Improvement Advisory Committee. He is editorial board chairman for the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.
Helling received a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Cincinnati.
About Mercer University and the Southern School of Pharmacy:
Mercer University’s Southern School of Pharmacy has a century-long tradition of excellence and a national reputation for producing outstanding leaders in the profession of pharmacy. In September 1981, Southern School of Pharmacy became the first pharmacy school in the Southeast and fifth in the nation to offer the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) as its sole professional degree. The School also offers the Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences. Pharmacists from Mercer are currently practicing in 43 states and in several foreign countries.
Founded in 1833, Mercer University has campuses in Macon and Atlanta as well as three regional academic centers. With 10 schools and colleges, the University offers programs in liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law and theology. For 15 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has named Mercer University as one of the leading universities in the South.
