DEERFIELD, Ill. — George E. MacKinnon III, PhD, DMSc (Hon), MS, RPh, FASHP, FNAP, professor and founding dean of the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, has been appointed co-chair of the Walgreens Deans Advisory Council. MacKinnon, who has served on the council since its launch in February 2024, now joins Walgreens pharmacy leader John Colaizzi at the helm.
He succeeds Angela Kashuba, dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, who served as the council’s founding co-chair during its inaugural year.
The Walgreens Deans Advisory Council, a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Walgreens, brings together deans from 17 colleges and schools of pharmacy across the U.S. The council’s mission is to strengthen the pharmacy profession, promote innovation, and empower pharmacists to take on expanded roles in community healthcare.
Reflecting on his appointment, MacKinnon said he was motivated by a long-standing belief in the power of community pharmacy and the need to prepare the next generation of pharmacists to take on broader responsibilities.
“I originally joined the council as I embraced the need for local pharmacists and pharmacies to take on a greater role in the health of our communities. Yet, there are many levers that need to be pulled, operationalized and regulatory changes needed to enable this. Likewise, we need a supply of incoming student pharmacists in academic pharmacy to empower this. When asked to step into the role as co-chair, I knew the work of the council, supported by the executive leadership at Walgreens, was on a strong trajectory and I felt I could help keep us on track,” he said.
MacKinnon cited the council’s PharmStart initiative as a standout achievement from its first year. “The PharmStart initiative to recruit existing Walgreens pharmacy technicians into our colleges and schools of pharmacy across the 140 programs in the U.S. is an excellent outcome from the council working with Walgreens leaders to collectively assist the pharmacy profession.”
MacKinnon is enthusiastic about the Shared Faculty Pilot Program, which will place Walgreens pharmacists in academic roles on campus.
“I am most excited about serving on the council with impassioned leaders of both academic pharmacy and Walgreens as we are all in this together—academia, practice and the profession.
I also look forward to welcoming Walgreens pharmacists to our campuses through the Shared Faculty Pilot program beginning this coming year. As practitioner role models, this should help to expose student pharmacists to the various paths to practice in community and specialty pharmacy,” MacKinnon said.
