Cap, gown, hood and pin

School of Pharmacy ceremony sees Pharm.D. candidates don their doctoral hoods while B.S. in Pharmacy students receive symbolic pins.

July 6, 2012

'Ethics should be your guiding principles,' the school's interim dean, Dr. Pierre Zalloua, told the students.

The six-year Pharm.D. program is the only program of its kind outside the United States to be accredited by ACPE.

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LAU’s School of Pharmacy hosted its annual hooding ceremony at LAU Byblos on July 3. The pre-commencement event is a characteristic tradition of American universities held to honor the achievements of doctoral degree candidates.

In the presence of LAU President Dr. Joseph Jabbra, Dr. Ziad Nassour, president of the Order of Pharmacists and LAU officials, friends and family gathered at the Selina Korban Theatre to watch faculty members ceremonially drape the doctoral hood over the shoulders of graduates, who then receive the Pharmacy Oath as they pledge to serve the welfare of their community and always act with professionalism.

“Ethics should be your guiding principles,” said the school’s interim dean, Dr. Pierre Zalloua. “When in doubt be ethical, when faced with difficulties be ethical, and when successful and on top of your career — above all — be ethical.”

Zalloua recalled Jabbra’s mantra, “we are what we repeatedly do,” and urged the graduates to aspire continuously for excellence. Radiating confidence, Zalloua urged the graduates to take pride in having received “the best pharmacy education in the region.”
Eliane Gerges, who received the highest GPA award in Pharm.D. and delivered the valedictory address, reminded her peers of the importance of tenacity. “The world will not care how many times you fall down,” she said, “as long as it is one fewer than the number of times you get back up.”

Michael Liebl, program director of clinical pharmacy at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, received a spontaneous standing ovation from the graduates as Gerges thanked him for his support in helping Pharm.D. students gain international exposure vis-à-vis clinical rotations in the United States.

Delighted by the show of gratitude, Liebl described gaining accreditation for the Pharm.D. program as extremely rewarding: “It was a challenging process getting reaccreditation, but we did it!”

The competitive six-year Pharm.D. program is the only program of its kind outside the United States to be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

“I am looking forward to becoming a pioneer in Lebanon in the clinical pharmaceutical field,” said Pharm. D. graduate Nour Khresis, who won the Best Clinician award.

Also looking to the future, Pharm.D. graduate George Nawas anticipated “applying the professionalism and ethics we’ve learned at LAU to the real world.”

As the doctoral hooding ceremonial came to an end, the B.S. in Pharmacy students were honored with School of Pharmacy pins.

B.S in Pharmacy student Mariam Ghorayeb described the ceremony as an important milestone, but added: “It’s not yet the end of the journey for me, since I will be returning to LAU in the fall to pursue a doctoral degree in pharmacy.”

As part of the next generation of LAU pharmacy students, Ghorayeb will be fortunate enough to take advantage of LAU’s freshly inked agreement with the prominent Lebanese pharmaceutical company Benta SAL, which grants them access to Benta’s state-of-the-art equipment and services.

The ceremony also honored LAU’s outgoing provost, Dr. Abdallah Sfeir, who was recognized as a mentor and great supporter of the School of Pharmacy. Sfeir was presented with a shield from Jabbra.

A total of five students were awarded at the event: Zeina Al Shaer, Highest GPA Award (B.S in Pharmacy); Eliane Gerges, Highest GPA Award (Pharm.D.), Noura Khreis, Best Clinician Award; Yurgui Teyrouz, Outreach Award; Manal Radwan, Therapeutics Award.

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