MEET THE PRESIDENT

Cynthia J. Boyle

doi:10.5688/ajpe79675

The 2015-2016 president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) is Cynthia J. Boyle. Dr. Boyle received her bachelor of science in pharmacy from the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, and as an established practitioner, her doctor of pharmacy from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She started her career as a pharmacist at Moulton’s Apothecary in Pensacola, Florida. Dr. Boyle has a vast array of pharmacy experiences, ranging from community to institutional to consultant pharmacy practice. She started her academic career as an assistant professor of pharmacy practice and science and as the assistant director for the Experiential Learning Program at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.

Dr. Boyle continued to serve the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy as the executive director of experiential learning and as an associate professor of pharmacy practice and science prior to her current position as professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She also served as the interim dean for the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions from August 2014 through June 2015.

Dr. Boyle has a long, dedicated, and distinguished record of service to the academy and to AACP. Her interests in AACP align with the Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Education Sections, along with the Leadership, Ethics, and Women’s Special Interest Groups. She is the author of more than 50 peer- reviewed papers, a book, book chapters, and letters to scholarly publications.

Having chaired the Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program Board in Baltimore, she is guided by this quote, “My life is my argument.” Dr. Boyle notes that how we spend our time in our vocation and life states what we value, believe, and support. Dr. Boyle served in leadership roles in the Professional Experience Programs Special Interest Group, which later became the AACP Experiential Education Section. She also served as the AACP speaker of the House of Delegates prior to her election as AACP president-elect designate. As speaker, she worked to “get our AACP house in order” by improving communication and delegate engagement, revising house rules of procedure, and contributing to more contemporary and streamlined bylaws. Dr. Boyle completed the AACP Academic Leadership Fellows Program, with Dean Natalie Eddington as her mentor.

Dr. Boyle’s career also has included leadership and service to other pharmacy organizations. She served three terms of office in the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management (APhA APPM) as member-at-large and chair of the administrative section and member-at-large on the executive committee. She also served as president of the Maryland Pharmacists Association and its foundation; national president of Phi Lambda Sigma, the national pharmacy leadership society; and chair of the Pharmacy Academy in the National Academies of Practice. She has sponsored the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy Legacy for Advocacy Student Scholarship and the APhA Boyle Family Student Pharmacist Scholarship.

Dr. Boyle has received numerous national and local awards, including the AACP Crystal APPLE award for contributions to learning excellence in experiential education, APhA’s Francke Leadership Mentor Award, the APhA Good Government Pharmacist-of-the-Year Award, and the 2015 APhA APPM Daniel B. Smith Practice Excellence Award. In 2013, she was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 women. With co-editors Drs. Robert Beardsley and Gary Matzke, she published the second edition of Leadership and Advocacy for Pharmacy in 2014 in electronic format to improve access for schools, faculty members, students, and practitioners.

“AACP is the organization for pharmacy educators and our professional neighborhood,” said Dr. Boyle. “This neighborhood is a community in which excellence, integrity, and learning are valued. As neighbors, we are inclusive and collaborative, and we have the foresight to embrace innovation as educators and advocates, scientists and mentors, leaders and servants, clinicians and thinkers. AACP provides a critical network of colleagues, venues for growth and development, and opportunities to volunteer and serve. Our collective efforts matter, as exemplified by our substantial progress in experiential education, where I have developed life-long colleagues.”

AACP provides Dr. Boyle with inspiration, a professional network, and resources to thrive in pharmacy education. She wants to work with others to collectively embrace innovation in education and to prepare graduates for a future that is constantly evolving.

Other individuals in the academy recognize Dr. Boyle for being one of the pioneering individuals in the area of experiential learning. Her colleagues, coworkers, and friends mention enthusiasm, passion, and positivity in her personal and professional activities and how her energy motivates them to become engaged with opportunities. She shares her passion for improving and enhancing pharmacy practice with students and pharmacy colleagues. Dr. Boyle is recognized as being a strong advocate for pharmacy. She seeks out opportunities to coach and mentor students to enhance their abilities as advocates who can convey to others the important contributions pharmacists make to patient care.

Dr. Boyle’s husband, Dr. Raymond C. Love, is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Her daughter Martha Abshire is completing her doctorate in nursing at Johns Hopkins, and her daughter Kate Brantley teaches advanced placement economics and government in Baltimore County. Kate and her husband Garth are also Baltimore residents and share Maggie, 3, and Jonathan (newborn in May) with grandparents Cynthia and Ray, who are shamelessly indoctrinating them to become Baltimore Ravens and Orioles fans.