William Prescott named chair of pharmacy practice at UB pharmacy school

BUFFALO, N.Y. — William A. Prescott, Jr., PharmD, has been appointed chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Prescott served as interim chair of the department since 2017, and has played a key role in faculty recruitment, mentoring faculty toward promotion, and in creating and strengthening relationships with the school’s clinical partners.

He joined the UB faculty in 2004 and was promoted to clinical professor in 2018. Prescott also serves as the vice executive officer for University Pharmacy Residency Services, Inc., the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences’ clinical residency program.

Prescott’s clinical research focuses on pediatric infectious diseases and pulmonary disease, and his educational scholarship is centered on curriculum and active learning. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and abstracts.

In 2010, Prescott led a team in instituting the school’s Scholars Program, an initiative designed to prepare academically excellent students for postgraduate residency training. He also played an instrumental leadership role in the introduction of simulation-based learning and advancing the application of objective structured clinical examinations into the school’s curriculum.

His innovative teaching techniques and integration of blended-learning earned him a 2017 State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has also been the recipient of the 2013 American College of Apothecaries Albert R. Rosica, Jr. Memorial Award, the 2015 UB Teaching Innovation Award, and the 2007 and 2011 UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Teacher of the Year Award.

Prescott is a fellow in the Mid-American Conference Academic Leadership Development Program, on the editorial board of the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, and on the board of directors of the New York State Council of Health-System Pharmacists. He has also served as chair of the pediatric pharmacy special interest group of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Prescott received his doctor of pharmacy degree from UB.