Hedge becomes dean at SDSU's pharmacy school

The acting dean of the South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy has been promoted to dean. Dennis Hedge takes over for Brian Kaatz, who became dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of South Dakota earlier this year.

Among Hedge’s priorities is building a new pharmacy building that’s scheduled for completion in 2010. “That will really change the way we do business,” Hedge said. “It will have both a teaching and learning space as well as a research wing.” He also wants to grow the pharmacy school’s research program and develop more of a name, nationally and internationally, for the school’s PharmD program.

He said one of the steps to doing that is to complete the new pharmacy building. The current building and teaching facilities are “marginal,” he said.

Hedge was named head of SDSU's Department of Clinical Pharmacy in 2003, was promoted to associate dean in 2007, and became acting dean July 1. He is the 11th pharmacy dean in the college's 120-year history.