DeClue elected president of national pharmacy leadership society

Faculty member and alumnus Anthony DeClue ’16 was elected as president-elect of Phi Lambda Sigma (PLS), the national pharmacy leadership society, at the 46^th House of Delegates meeting on June 26.

His term begins immediately and will run until the 47^th House of Delegates in the summer of 2022, at which time he will take over the presidency.

DeClue has served as director of clinical services for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Family Medicine Pharmacy since 2016 and as an assistant professor of clinical pharmacy and outcome sciences since 2017. He has also served as a staff pharmacist for Walmart and as a consultant for EdLogics. His path to pharmacy was a little unorthodox, as prior to that he taught rhetoric at Clemson University, where he earned a master’s degree in English before coming to the MUSC College of Pharmacy for his Pharm.D.

Earning a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in secondary education, English, and philosophy is uncommon pre-pharmacy coursework. But it has served DeClue well, since the art of communication and persuasion is a vital function for both teaching students and treating patients. He teaches primarily in the community and clinical assessment lab courses, with some additional lecturing in a variety of other courses.

He has been part of the national PLS structure for six years, serving the society as both speaker of the house and parliamentarian.

“It is an honor to be elected to serve the Society as President-Elect,” he said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time serving PLS and I am excited to have the opportunity to continue to collaborate with these great colleagues to serve our membership.”

Michael Mueller, incoming PLS president, is happy to have him as a fellow officer. “I am ecstatic that Anthony decided to seize the opportunity to run for this office,” he said. “He brings so much historical knowledge to the position. He is going to be outstanding in this role.”

Phi Lambda Sigma was established in 1965 to develop leadership qualities among pharmacy students and pharmacists and to recognize leaders in the profession. The elected offices within the National Executive Committee also include:

• President: Michael Mueller, Ph.D. (LECOM – Bradenton Campus)
• Immediate Past-President: Jordan Ballou, Pharm.D., BCACP (University of Mississippi)
• Speaker of the House: Lamees Loubani, Pharm.D. Candidate (University of Houston)
• Members-at-Large: Erin Ballentine, Pharm.D. Candidate (Cedarville University) and Yihan Li, Pharm.D. Candidate (University of Pittsburgh)

Appointed officers and staff members include:

• Executive Director: Brandon Jennings, Pharm.D., BCACP (Abilyn Consulting, LLC, Winchester, VA)
• Associate Executive Director: Mary Euler, Pharm.D., FAPhA (West Virginia University)
• Student Intern: Leigh Joyner, Pharm.D. Candidate (University of South Carolina)
• Treasurer: Jaclyn Cole, Pharm.D., BCPS (University of South Florida)