Remembering Albert Soloway, former dean of the College of Pharmacy
We regret to share that Albert Soloway, former dean of the College of Pharmacy, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. A beloved member of our pharmacy family, Dean Soloway will be greatly missed.
Dean Soloway joined the Ohio State faculty in 1977, serving as the college’s fifth dean until 1988. He also served as a professor in the college's Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy. Prior to joining Ohio State, Dean Soloway was the dean of the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. He received his BS from Worcester Polytech and a PhD from the University of Rochester.
While at Ohio State, Dean Soloway nurtured scholarship, research and teaching in the college. During his tenure, clinical pharmacy educational programs were introduced into the core curriculum, and experiential training of students was enhanced. Additionally, the college doubled in extramural support and was recognized as one of the top pharmacy schools in the nation. He also cultivated a relationship with the Plough Foundation, resulting in the Plough Foundation Scholarship Endowment that has supported as many as 41 students annually and secured an endowed professorship in pharmacy administration from Merrill-Dow Pharmaceuticals. Dean Soloway had an active research program in cancer drug discovery at Northeastern University and during his deanship at Ohio State, and was a pioneer in the development of boron neutron captured-based chemotherapeutics.
Recognizing the need for FDA examination of medication doses for infants and children, Dean Soloway encouraged a young faculty member, Dr. Milap Nahata, to conduct research at Children’s Hospital. This work resulted in clinical studies in young patients, ultimately leading to the discovery of proper doses, pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety management of many medications. Before 1979, this was only done for adults for a majority of medications.
In 1988, Dean Soloway stepped down from his deanship and began teaching in the college’s professional and graduate programs. In that same year, he retired from Ohio State, becoming dean and professor emeritus. In retirement, Dean Soloway wrote a book on higher education titled “Failed Grade: The Corporatization and Decline of Higher Education in America.” In 2013, Dean Soloway was awarded an honorary D.Sc. from The Ohio State University.
Please find Dr. Soloway’s obituary here.
“I am saddened to learn about Dean Soloway’s passing and am reflecting on a highly impactful legacy of his deanship. He provided superb leadership during the period of transformative curricular changes in our BS (Pharmacy) program with the inclusion of clinical pharmacy courses and expansion of its experiential components, and implementation of a postbaccalaureate PharmD program which became nationally known for its quality and laid the foundation for developing an entry-level PharmD program during Dean Cassady’s tenure. I am grateful for the continued encouragement and support Dean Soloway offered to me and my faculty colleagues for developing rewarding careers involving teaching, patient care, research, and service.”