June 3, 2022
AUBURN, Alabama - Dr. Karen Marlowe, a faculty member and leader within the Harrison College of Pharmacy for more than 20 years, has been tabbed as the college’s associate dean for academic programs following a national search. She will assume her new duties on July 1.
Marlowe joined the Harrison College of Pharmacy, or HCOP, faculty in the Department of Pharmacy Practice in 2000. Since 2007, she has served as associate department head and assistant dean of the Mobile Campus, leading HCOP’s second campus in Mobile since its inception.
“We feel very fortunate to have someone with Dr. Marlowe’s talent, experience and dedication in this important position,” said Dr. Timothy Moore, interim dean of the Harrison College of Pharmacy. “She possesses a unique set of skills, has a creative and innovative mindset, is a strong advocate for student success and has a long history of exemplary leadership to our college and to the entire profession. I am very excited for our Division of Academic Programs and college as a whole.”
As associate dean for academic programs, Marlowe will oversee a broad portfolio that includes recruiting and admissions, student services, curricular planning, academic policies and procedures, student organizations, budgeting and personnel management, among other areas. In addition, she will serve as a member of the college’s senior leadership team and advise the dean in all aspects of the day-to-day management of the college.
“The heart of our program continues to be our faculty, staff and students, and I am excited to continue to work with the staff and faculty in the Division of Academic Programs to further develop our curricula, student success initiatives, faculty mentoring and highlight our student organizations for each of our campuses and programs,” said Marlowe. “Auburn is known for a high quality student experience and I want to continue to ensure this tradition from recruitment to graduation.”
Marlowe is a 1993 graduate of Auburn, earning a bachelor of science in pharmacy. She remained at the Harrison College of Pharmacy and completed her doctor of pharmacy in 1995. She completed her pharmacy practice residency at Egleston Children's Hospital, now Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. After completing her residency Marlowe initiated a practice in the cardiac intensive care and cardiopulmonary transplant units at Egleston, serving as a pharmacotherapy specialist in pediatric, neonatal, and cardiac intensive care until 2000.
Initially coming to HCOP as an assistant professor, she was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2006 and was named Davis Professor in 2015. She was promoted to associate department head and assistant dean of the Mobile campus in 2007. Since 2019, Marlowe has also served as the founding director of the Auburn University Center for Opioid Research, Education and Outreach.
Dr. Marlowe has been engaged in the design of the HSOP Practice Ready Curriculum. She teaches in the HSOP curriculum in all three years as well as offering two electives focused on end of life and pain management.
“Pharmacy education and our health care system are changing at a rapid pace. The Harrison College of Pharmacy has designed dynamic educational experiences for our graduate students and our doctor of pharmacy students to prepare them for this changing environment,” said Marlowe. “It is crucial to keep our curricula and programs current and forward thinking. Our challenge as a college is to meet the needs of our students not only at the time of graduation but to give them the skills to maintain their careers as health care professionals and researchers for a lifetime.
As a practitioner, she has served as an adjunct faculty member in the University of South Alabama College of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine since 2000. She is board certified in pharmacotherapy by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties and is credentialed in pain management by the American Academy of Pain Management. She is a certified pain educator and provides care for inpatient internal medicine patients, and maintains a consult service and patient advocacy program for patients with chronic pain or terminal illness.
Her areas of scholarship and research include pain management, ethics and professionalism related to pain management, patient attitudes and success of pain management strategies, patient acceptance of non-medicinal strategies for pain management in combination with their medication, current state of medical education related to pain management and pharmacokinetics.
Professionally, she is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the Alabama Pharmacy association. She has also served as an accreditation site visitor for the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
During the first few months in her new role, Marlowe will work closely with Dr. Paul Jungnickel, outgoing associate dean for academic programs, who will retire later this year. Jungnickel, who has been with HCOP since 1997, will assume the role of senior associate dean effective July 1.
“Dr. Paul Jungnickel has had a long and distinguished career as a pharmacist and pharmacy educator,” said Moore. “His positive contributions to the Harrison College of Pharmacy, our students and the profession of pharmacy nationally and internationally are incalculable, and he will be greatly missed. We are delighted that Dr. Jungnickel will continue as a member of our leadership team and provide his valuable insight for the college in his new role.”
Plans for an administrative leadership transition on the HCOP Mobile Campus are currently under way.
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Auburn University’s Harrison College of Pharmacy is ranked among the top 25 percent of all pharmacy programs in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report. Fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the College offers doctoral degrees in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and pharmaceutical sciences (Ph.D.) while also offering a master’s in pharmaceutical sciences. The College's commitment to world-class scholarship and interdisciplinary research speaks to Auburn's overarching Carnegie R1 designation that places Auburn among the top 100 doctoral research universities in the nation. For more information about the School, please call 334.844.8348 or visit http://pharmacy.auburn.edu.