Dr. Elena Umland seeks to develop areas that make ACPHS stand out.
Stroll by the Dean of Pharmacy offices in the O’Brien Building these days, and you may notice the suite’s outer door propped open with a heavy, outsized mortar-and-pestle doorstop. Enter, and you may see yet another open door to Dean Elena Umland’s own office.
It’s her way of letting students, faculty and staff know she’s ready for a visit, open to their thoughts.
“When it’s open, it’s open,” she said. “I’m available.”
Dr. Umland moved into the School of Pharmacy’s top position on July 7, 2025, overseeing the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy Practice departments. She brings to ACPHS nearly three decades of experience in academic pharmacy, most recently as the founding associate dean of Academic Affairs at the Jefferson College of Pharmacy at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
As she was settling into her new space in the summer, scheduling meetings with the almost 40 faculty and staff who make up the School of Pharmacy, Dr. Umland was considering how to bridge communication gaps, build even stronger relationships internally and position the school well for transformative external partnerships.
Among Dr. Umland’s areas of expertise is interprofessional education. A recognized leader in IPE, she was co-director of the Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. There, she built and strengthened interprofessional collaborations spanning more than 10 health-care disciplines, always with the aim of meeting students’ expectations.
“IPE has to speak to students,” she said. “For IPE to be successful, students have to see how it relates to them and how it relates to their discipline and their future in that discipline.”
The new Pharmacy Dean was excited to learn more about already strong, recognized IPE collaborations between ACPHS and Albany Medical College, and is keen on developing new opportunities with proposed merger partner Russell Sage College, whose health-professions programs in occupational therapy and physical therapy could create new learning opportunities for pharmacy students. And she noted that ACPHS’ own Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training offers extraordinary resources for pharmacy students that are available on just a few pharmacy-school campuses nationwide.
“Looking ahead, to position the School of Pharmacy at the forefront of pharmacy education in the region and nationally, it’s going to be extremely important to identify, create and capitalize on those things that differentiate us,” Dr. Umland said.
The new dean was not only settling into campus last summer, but also into a Victorian-era residence overlooking the Mohawk River – her “dream home,” she said – with her 12-year-old dog, Ruby. She was looking forward to spending time in the garden, and had so far explored Peebles Island State Park, with its wild, mild-mannered deer and stunning views of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers.
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