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The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Graduates 648

Health Care Professionals: 

Ryan Parker Earns Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from

College of Pharmacy

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Memphis, Tenn. – On Friday, May 28, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) graduated 648 health care professionals.  Ryan Parker of Sikeston, Missouri, was one of 175 graduates from the College of Pharmacy.  With more than 5,800 alumni, the college ranks number 16 nationally among U.S. pharmacy schools and has educated 40 percent of the state’s pharmacists.

The graduation ceremony was held at FedEx Forum in downtown Memphis.  Steve J. Schwab, MD, interim chancellor of UT Health Science Center, presided over the ceremony.  Jan Simek, interim president of the University of Tennessee, conferred the degrees. 

            Ryan, son of Ricky and Cheryl Parker, graduated with a PharmD and is employed as a staff pharmacist at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Missouri.  A 1999 graduate of New Madrid County R-1 School District, he previously attended Southeast Missouri State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2004.  He currently resides in Sikeston with his wife Erin and their son Eli.

Harry Jacobson, MD, former Vanderbilt Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and former CEO of the Vanderbilt Health System, delivered the commencement address to the graduates and their families.  His remarks were titled, “Health Care is a Team Sport.”  Dr. Jacobson, a nephrologist and health care entrepreneur, retired from Vanderbilt in 2009 after more than 12 years as CEO. 

The 648 graduates were from all six of the UT Health Science Center’s colleges.

n      178 from the College of Allied Health Sciences;

n      73 from the College of Dentistry;

n      43 from the College of Graduate Health Sciences;

n      143 from the College of Medicine;

n      36 from the College of Nursing; and

n      175 from the College of Pharmacy.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  UTHSC has additional colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy plus an Allied Health Sciences unit in Knoxville, as well as a College of Medicine campus in Chattanooga.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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