KU community mourns death of Professor Patricia Howard

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas and KU Medical Center communities are mourning the death of Professor Patricia Howard, who died Dec. 17. She was 64.

Howard earned two pharmacy degrees from KU: a bachelor of science in 1981 and a doctor of pharmacy in 1988. She was a professor and vice chair in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. She held a joint appointment as professor of cardiovascular medicine at KU Medical Center and was a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist and a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Howard began her career at KU in 1983 as a clinical pharmacy instructor. Throughout her 32 years at the university, she divided her time between the medical center and the Lawrence campus. In Lawrence, she taught students in the school’s Doctor of Pharmacy Program, and at the medical center, she performed clinical and research work.

School of Pharmacy Dean Ken Audus said Howard was well-known and respected nationally for her pharmacy expertise but fewer people know she was a bit of a pioneer.

“She entered the pharmacy field at a time when it was rare for women to be in the cardiology area. She had to be tough and at the top of her game at all times, because she was being judged by some on a different scale,” Audus said. “She met and exceeded those elevated standards, and I believe strengthened the profession significantly for those who follow.”

KU School of Pharmacy Associate Dean Harold Godwin was the pharmacy director at KU Medical Center when Howard began her clinical work there more than 30 years ago. Godwin said Howard was among the first pharmacists in the country to accompany and advise physicians on their patient rounds, something that is standard practice today. Prior to that time, pharmacists were looked at primarily as medicine dispensers, Godwin said.

Her interactions with the physicians led Howard to a focus on cardiology, a field that would become her professional passion.

“She developed many collaborative relationships with cardiologists and demonstrated her aptitude not only for better patient care but also for research,” Godwin said. “She soon became a nationally recognized pharmacy cardiology expert.”

Howard was also a highly regarded classroom teacher. She earned a W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence Award from KU in 2001 and a Rho Chi Award for Teaching Excellence from school of pharmacy students in 2011.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Patricia Howard,” Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said. “On behalf of the entire university community, we send our condolences to her family, friends and colleagues, and we wish them peace during this difficult time.”

Services are pending.