January 26, 2026
ASHP is pleased to announce that Donald E. Letendre, PharmD, FASHP, a noted pharmacy leader who has made significant contributions to clinical pharmacy education, patient-centered research, health-system pharmacy practice, and professional service, is the recipient of the 2026 Harvey A.K. Whitney Lecture Award, health-system pharmacy’s highest honor.
Letendre is a professor of pharmacy practice and science and dean emeritus at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in Iowa City. He will receive the award at ASHP Pharmacy Futures 2026 in June.
Letendre began his career as an assistant director and assistant professor of pharmacy at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He was an ASHP staff member for nearly two decades, where he served as director of accreditation services. In this role, Letendre oversaw the growth of pharmacy residency programs from 190 in 1986 to 571 in 2001, established an accreditation process for pharmacy technician training programs, developed the ASHP Practitioner Recognition Program, and instituted the Pharmacy Resident Match Program.
He was appointed as dean and professor at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy in 2001, where he implemented the state’s first PharmD curriculum, expanded the college’s research portfolio with a tenfold increase in external funding, established a Student Leadership Council to provide student pharmacists with a stronger voice in academic and community affairs, and led a successful initiative to secure $64M in state funding to build a new facility for the college of pharmacy. During this period, Letendre also served as executive secretary of the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory, realizing significant growth and attaining national accreditation.
As dean and professor at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, Letendre led a reorganization of the college’s infrastructure, spearheaded a shift to a student-centered learning model, developed joint master's programs in public health and informatics, and established professional and peer student mentoring programs. He led a statewide advocacy campaign to secure $70M in funding from the Iowa legislature for the construction of the first health sciences facility to incorporate Universal Design, with adaptable spaces for research, teaching, and manufacturing. He also led the development of the Iowa Institute for Drug Discovery and Development to consolidate and leverage existing strengths across the university to stimulate discovery and translational science and to initiate an integrated drug development center. Letendre also served as chair of the board of the University of Iowa Pharmaceuticals, the most comprehensive Food and Drug Administration-registered drug manufacturing organization housed within a college of pharmacy. He retired as dean in 2024 and was named dean emeritus in January.
Letendre is the recipient of numerous honors, including a Fulbright Specialist Award in recognition of his international education efforts. The award partially supports his work with the faculty of medicine at the University of Prishtina to establish and support an Institute of Pharmacy to serve the Republic of Kosovo. He has also received the Robert G. Gibbs Distinguished Pharmacist Award, the highest honor of the Iowa Pharmacy Association, the Lifetime Achievement Award and member of the Hall of Distinguished Alumni from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, Outstanding National Dean of the Year, American Pharmacists Association – Academy of Student Pharmacists, and Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Letendre received a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston and a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in Lexington. He completed a residency at the University of Kentucky, Albert B. Chandler Medical Center.
ASHP has administered the Harvey A.K. Whitney Lecture Award — established in 1950 by the Southeastern Michigan Society of Hospital Pharmacists — since 1963. Harvey A.K. Whitney, ASHP’s first president, was an editor, author, educator, practitioner, and leader in hospital pharmacy. The award recognizes significant contributions to the advancement of pharmacy practice. Nominations for the award are made by past recipients and ASHP members. The winner is selected by a majority vote of past honorees.
