Dr. Debbie Byrd, dean of East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, was named a Distinguished Fellow of the Pharmacy Academy by the National Academies of Practice (NAP), a prestigious honor recognizing excellence and leadership in interprofessional health care.

Members of the Class of 2026 were inducted into the National Academies of Practice during the Annual Induction Banquet and Awards Ceremony in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, March 14.

“I was deeply honored to be recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice,” Byrd said. “Interprofessional collaboration is essential to improving patient outcomes, especially in rural and underserved communities. I am proud to represent our college and the work our faculty, student pharmacists and alumni do each day to advance patient-centered care.”

Founded in 1981, the National Academies of Practice advances interprofessional education, scholarship, research, practice and public policy. They educate and inform members and others, facilitate collaborative scholarship and research opportunities, recruit, engage, retain and mentor their network of members, and advocate the value of interprofessional practice and improve healthcare and policy for all.

Membership in the National Academies of Practice is an honor extended to those who have excelled in their profession and are dedicated to advancing interprofessional education, scholarship, research, practice and policy in support of interprofessional care. Learn more at napractice.org.

The Distinguished Fellow designation (FNAP) is a lifetime honor awarded to health care leaders with at least 10 years of exemplary professional experience and a demonstrated commitment to interprofessional practice and accessible, affordable health care. Fellows are nominated and elected by distinguished peers in their profession and across health disciplines.

Prior to her coming to ETSU to serve as Dean in 2016, her previous administrative leadership experience includes roles as associate dean for Professional Affairs and assistant dean for a new distance education campus, serving as director of experiential Learning and as director for Primary Care and Rural Primary Care Residency Programs, and representing the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Teachers of Pharmacy Practice as chair of the section.

A professor of Pharmacy Practice, Byrd’s practice experience includes development of new patient care services for underserved Family Medicine patients at sites including a private community hospital, rural mobile health clinic, rural private practice and a large academic medical center. Honored as a Preceptor of Excellence, her leadership in education includes curricular redesign; faculty orientation and mentoring programs; formal resident teaching and learning program activities; and academia and leadership Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE).

Byrd is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy and completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Regional Medical Center at Memphis (now Regional One Health) followed by a Primary Care Specialty Residency at the National Institutes of Health. She began the first 10 years of her academic career at Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy, followed by another decade at the University of Tennessee. Byrd is a graduate of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education Management Development Program and the AACP Academic Leadership Fellows Program (ALFP), where she serves as a dean mentor and facilitator, as well as a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Leadership and Management Academy Advisory Board, and an American Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) site visitor.

Byrd received the AACP Anne Marie Liles Distinguished Service Award in 2021.

Other accomplishments under her leadership include:

• The establishment of the Center for Pharmacy Education, Advocacy and Outreach, founded in partnership with Ballad Health in 2022.

• College received a top national award for service to the community, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Lawrence C. Weaver Transformative Community Service Award.

• Securing a $2.5 million annual state appropriation for ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy in 2023.

• The college’s U.S. News & World Report ranking improved to third among pharmacy schools established since 2005 and fourth among all colleges across Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.

• Implementation of a formal North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) preparation program, after which the college posted the highest pass rate in Tennessee for both the NAPLEX and the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (MPJE), ranking among the top five programs nationally among accredited pharmacy schools.

• Creation of new admissions pathways, including the Early Admission Pathway for high school students attending ETSU and the 3+1 Pathway, helping make a PharmD at ETSU more accessible.

• Expansion of student support infrastructure, including the addition of a Director of Academic Success and Student Success Specialists to help students achieve positive outcomes.

For more information about ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, visit etsu.edu/pharmacy.