School of Pharmacy Receives Prestigious Centennial Scholarship from FDA Alumni Association (FDAAA)
April 5, 2006, Washington, DC – Temple University School of Pharmacy received a prestigious endowment from the FDA Alumni Association (FDAAA) creating the first scholarship for students for the School’s graduate program in Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance (RAQA). Dr. Peter H. Doukas, Dean of the School of Pharmacy, received the award from Robert W. Sauer, Chairman of the FDAAA Scholarship Committee, and John C. Villforth, Chairman, FDAAA Board of Directors.
The FDAAA established the endowment to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Pure Food and Drugs Act and to encourage academic training in regulatory and quality issues. After reviewing graduate programs of schools nationwide, the FDAAA selected Temple University School of Pharmacy. “It was a logical choice, after seeing Temple’s outstanding program and long-standing relationship with the Food and Drug Administration,” said Sauer. Upon receiving the award Dean Doukas remarked,"Temple School of Pharmacy is most appreciative and honored to receive this generous FDAAA Centennial Scholarship on the occasion of the Agency's Centennial. We thank the FDAAA on behalf of the students who will benefit and for the recognition of the QA/RA program that it symbolizes."
Temple University School of Pharmacy is the pioneer in providing advanced academic coursework in Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs, which refer to the quality practices and regulations governing the pharmaceutical, medical device, biopharmaceutical, healthcare and consumer products, and related industries. The School was the first to create a master’s program in QA in 1968. In the 1990’s, the School developed innovative curricular offerings in the regulatory sciences and also created the first academic certificate programs in Drug Development, Clinical Trial Management, and Medical Device Regulation. The School of Pharmacy at Temple University now provides one of the most comprehensive graduate curriculum of its kind, integrating the disciplines of pharmaceutical law and regulation, pharmaceutical technology and science, and quality assurance practices.
Since 2000, the School has worked closely with the US Food and Drug Administration in sponsoring an annual conference, “FDA and Industry in Dialogue.” Members of the FDA also lecture for and teach in the RAQA graduate program which is based at Fort Washington, PA. Each semester hundreds of students enroll in RAQA courses, which are taught by industry experts representing virtually every major pharmaceutical corporation in the US ad well as experts from the FDA.
Created in 2000, the FDAAA is a non-profit, volunteer service organization whose mission is to educate the public about the ever-expanding mission of the federal Food and Drug Administration. Members are former Agency employees who continue to use their specialized technical, scientific and institutional knowledge to perform public service related to the FDA.
Addendum: June 2018
James S. Benson of the FDAAA was one of the important individuals behind the establishment of the FDAAA Centennial Scholarship. His tireless efforts in reaching out to corporations for contributions led to the establishment of the Scholarship in 2008. Sadly, he passed away this year and is sorely missed by his FDAAA colleagues and friends at Temple University's School of Pharmacy.
To remember his outstanding work for the organization, the FDAAA unanimously approved the renaming of the Centennial Scholarship Endowment to the James S. Benson FDA Alumni Association Centennial Scholarship (effective in June 2018).
Temple University School of Pharmacy awarded the first James S. Benson FDA Alumni Association Centennial Scholarship in the Fall 2018 semester.
To date, over 40 RAQA students have received scholarships through the James S. Benson FDA Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. We are grateful to the members of the FDAAA who have supported the scholarship over the years. In particular, Robert and Kelly Sauer have been wonderful friends and enthusiastic supporters of fund-raising for the scholarship for over a decade.
( from left to right:) Robert Sauer Board Member of FDAAA,
John Villforth President of the FDAAA,
Burton Love, Chairman of the Board Of Directors of the FDAAA,
Temple School of Pharmacy, Peter H. Doukas, Dean,
Christopher VanVessem, Director of Development,
Wendy Lebing, Assistant Dean, QA/RA
Mr. Robert Myers President of the Parenteral Drug Association,
Dr. Linda Suydam, President of the ConsumerHealthcare Products Association
and Dr. Peter Corr Vice President Science,Pfizer Inc
and also Chairman of the Board of Directors for the PhRMA Foundation.
James S. Benson FDA Alumni Association Scholarship
Created in 2000, the Food and Drug Administration Alumni Association (FDAAA) is a non-profit volunteer service organization whose mission is to educate the public about the ever-expanding public health mission of the federal Food and Drug Administration. Members are former Agency employees who continue to use their specialized technical, scientific and institutional knowledge to perform public service related to the FDA.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Pure Food and Drugs Act, the FDAAA established a scholarship fund to encourage academic training in regulatory and quality issue, selecting the RAQA Graduate Program as the recipient of the endowment. The RAQA graduate program is deeply honored to receive this prestigious award.
The Scholarship was renamed in June 2018 in remembrance of James S. Benson of the FDAAA, who worked tirelessly to raise funds for the endowment when it was first created and who passed away earlier in the year.
The FDAAA Centennial Scholarship Award is open to current and new Temple U RAQA students, who are not eligible for tuition reimbursement at their organization or receive only partial reimbursement. The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of both financial need and academic merit. At least one scholarship is specifically slated for a member of the FDA each year. The awards are given for each Fall semester and consist of the tuition costs for one RAQA course (exclusive of the University Services fee). In some cases, the Committee may decide to offer partial funding to a student.
Interested students should submit their application materials no later than August 1 each year. A selection committee consisting of School of Pharmacy administrators and personnel will make the final selection. The recipients will be announced in mid-September each year. The recipients' name will be forwarded to the FDAAA for publication in their newsletter. Recipients must be a registered student in the RAQA graduate program with no Incompletes or Academic Holds on their record.
Students may apply for the James S. Benson FDA Alumni Association Scholarship more than once. To be eligible to reapply, the student must have earned a grade of B or higher in the course taken under the FDAAA scholarship. In addition, the student must submit a new application form (but a second essay is not required).
Applying for the James S. Benson FDA Alumni Association Scholarship
Donating to the James S. Benson FDA Alumni Association Scholarship
For further information, contact:
Temple University School of Pharmacy
Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance Graduate Program
Attention: Wendy Lebing, MALD, MS, Assistant Dean
Phone: 267.468.8560
Fax: 267.468.8565
E-mail: [click-for-email]