2025 Kremers Memorial Lecture

2025 Kremers Memorial Lecture:

Leadership Lessons I Wish I’d Had in Pharmacy School

Speaker:
Dr. Lee Vermeulen, BSPharm, MS, FCCP, FFIP
Executive Vice President and CEO
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

Lee C. Vermeulen, BSPharm, MS, FCCP, FFIP is the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). Founded in 1900, AACP is the national organization representing pharmacy education in the United States, providing leadership in advancing and enhancing the quality of education and training in its member institutions – the 142 US colleges and schools of pharmacy – as well as individual members including administrators, faculty and staff of those institutions. AACP also represents more than 50,000 student pharmacists enrolled in professional  programs and 5,100 individuals pursuing graduate study. Prior to serving as AACPs 7 th EVP and CEO, Vermeulen held a variety of executive positions at UK HealthCare, the University of Kentucky health system, and at UW Health, the health system of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. At both health systems, he was responsible for the development and oversight of enterprise-wide efforts to reduce unnecessary care variation under consistent, evidence-based standards, thus achieving measurable improvements in quality and patient outcomes, and reducing cost. He has held academic appointments as Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky, as well as Clinical Professor Pharmacy at UW–Madison. He is an active health services researcher with over 80 peer-reviewed publications, with an emphasis on interventions that improve the efficient delivery of high-quality health care, as well as forecasting emerging trends in health care cost and value. He received a BS degree in pharmacy from the University of Buffalo, and an MS degree in pharmacy administration from the UW–Madison. He completed residency training in pharmacy practice and pharmacy administration at the UW Hospital and Clinics, and served a fellowship in medical technology assessment at the University Healthsystem Consortium (now Vizient). Vermeulen has been awarded Fellowship in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). He is the recipient of multiple awards, including Pharmacist of the Year from the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, the Winston J. Durant Lecture Award from the University of Wisconsin, the Willis G. Gregory Memorial Award from the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Donald E. Francke Medal from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

The Annual Kremers Lecture, hosted by Rho Chi and Phi Lambda Sigma,
features a scientist and educator, or a creative leader in the health sciences.