Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 9-10-19

Feature
Friendship Led To $10M Gift To USF’s College Of Pharmacy
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
The University of South Florida, School of Health re- ceived an unprecedented gift of $10 million by the Taneja Family Foundation for the College of Pharmacy, re- cently.
With this gift, the USF College of Pharmacy building has been renamed the Taneja College of Pharmacy and will move downtown to be a part of the groundbreaking Water Street site, along with USF’s Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute.
Huge endowments, dona-
tions, and gifts are given to large universities all the time, so what is so special about this gift? The answer is one man, Dr. Kevin Sneed, the founding and present Dean of the College of Pharmacy and the first African American dean in the USF College of Health.
Dr. Sneed’s heartfelt emotion comes through as he discusses the deep, authentic friendship he maintains with the Tanejas. Dr. Sneed and the Tanejas’ friendship grow authentically through mutual interests and time spent getting to know each other. As their discussions
became deeper and more personal, the more common ground they found. The rela- tionship flourished and the Tanejas wanted to support their friend.
“My happiness with the gift is immeasurable, I am more than grateful and more than thankful,” says Dr. Sneed.
Although there was a tremendous amount of press around the gift, no news out- looks mentioned Dr. Sneed or his incredible efforts at the College of Pharmacy.
An outcry, led by existing and retired faculty and staff of USF, lead to a statement
to integrate into the entire health care system. He has also been active in numerous diversity initiatives both within USF and the larger Tampa community. In all these roles, Dr. Sneed has been a model representative of our commitment to inno- vation, inclusion, engage- ment and excellence in health care.”
Dr. Sneed, a native of Orlando, is a tenured Profes- sor and also serves as Senior Associate Vice-President for USF Health.
His educational back- ground includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with a concentration in Mi- crobiology from the Univer- sity of Central Florida. Dr. Sneed received his Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Phar- macy, where he received nu- merous clinical and leadership awards.
He completed an Ambu- latory Care/Primary Care Pharmacy Practice Specialty Residency at Bay Pines Vet- eran’s Administration Med- ical Center.
He is very active in na- tional and state organiza- tions, among which include AHA, ABC, NPHA, ASHP, AACP, FPA, FSHP, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.
Dr. Sneed is married to the Honorable Julie S. Sneed, United States Mag- istrate Judge for the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, and they are the parents of 2 children.
Dr. Kevin Sneed is the founding Dean of the USF, Col- lege of Pharmacy.
by Dr. Charles J. Lock- wood, Senior Vice-Presi- dent, USF Health, and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.
“Dr. Kevin Sneed,
worked tirelessly to build a genuine relationship with the Taneja family. We at USF Health wish to recognize the integral part Dr. Sneed plays in our organization’s success. As the founding col- lege of pharmacy dean, and the first African American dean in USF Health’s history, Dr. Sneed has been indis- pensable in guiding the col- lege through its formative years, building an innovative approach to pharmacy edu- cation that teaches students
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