Mike Millard Retires After More Than 11 Years in School of Pharmacy
This fall, the School of Pharmacy honored longtime faculty member Michael Millard, who retires after more than 11 years at Pacific University. Millard will continue his connection with the School of Pharmacy and aspires to be a faculty emeritus and continue to share his knowledge with our students in social administrative sciences. He was honored at a retirement celebration on Dec. 5.
“In Mike Millard’s nearly 50-year career in pharmacy, he has effectively helped shape the hearts and minds of many practitioners of the succeeding generation,” said Professor Steve Arendt, a longtime colleague of Millard’s. “Professor Millard and the rest of us can rest assured that our journey forward to advance the practice of pharmacy and the communities we all serve will continue based in large part on Professor Millard’s contributions.”
Millard grew up in Eugene, Ore., where he went to work at a bakery donut shop cleaning dishes at age 14. He attended Eugene High School, then Oregon State University in Corvallis, where he graduated with a degree in pharmacy in 1972. After pharmacy school, he completed his residency at the Portland Veterans Association Medical Center in Portland in 1973. He continued to further his education and received his master of science at Oregon State University College of Pharmacy in 1976.
After school, Millard served as a clinical staff pharmacist at Dwyer Community Hospital. From there, he held various pharmacy leadership and management positions at institutions throughout Oregon, including 32 years of experience as a pharmacy director. He was active in the Oregon Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists, where he was an integral part on many legislative accomplishments including passing hormonal contraception prescriptive authority.
At Pacific University, Millard helped transform Social Administration Sciences from a block class to a full longitudinal course. Millard and his team members, Steve Arendt and Maddie Fry, published a book titled, Pharmacy Management & Leadership Learning Through Case Studies, to help pharmacists to be more effective in managing HR or professional challenges.
Millard was hired by Dean Sue Stein at Pacific University School of Pharmacy in 2008 and was selected to serve on the assessment and student progression committee for the school, along with teaching. Over the next 11 years, Millard would serve as an advisor, preceptor, assistant dean for clinical practice, assistant professor, University Faculty Chair, and Faculty Senate Representative.
“This has been a lovely experience,” Millard said. “I’ve enjoyed it so much, and there’s nothing I can imagine doing that would be better than this. This has probably been one of my favorite parts of my career.”
After retirement, Millard will continue with a light adjunct teaching load, work on developing devices to reduce healthcare provider controlled substance diversion under a National Institutes of Health (NIH) contract, and look forward to relaxing.