Faculty of Pharmacy Foundation

Foundations at the University are established by the Senate to ‘bridge the gap’ between the University, industry and professions to achieve world-class results in a wide variety of fields. Foundations work in close association with faculties to provide support for teaching and research.

The Faculty of Pharmacy has been privileged to have had an associated philanthropic foundation since 1978, established to raise awareness and funding for pharmacy practice at the University of Sydney.

With the shift to a cross-disciplinary research focus in 2010 the Faculty saw the need for its philanthropic Foundation to reflect the desire to focus its research on solving some of the greatest health challenges of our time, such as diabetes, cancer and asthma.

The new Faculty of Pharmacy Foundation will focus its efforts on attracting philanthropic funds for all areas of research in the Faculty and from all areas of the pharmacy profession, including the pharmaceutical industry and community pharmacy. This will ensure a continuation of the previous pharmacy management and practice initiatives and funding for exciting new cross-disciplinary research initiatives.

Supporting Pharmacy at Sydney is your chance to encourage intellectual discovery and development for the benefit of Australia and the wider world. Choose an area to support.

Latest News

Annual General Meeting

The Faculty of Pharmacy Foundation’s Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Monday 15 April 2013 at 3.45pm and will be held in the Pharmacy Common Room, Pharmacy and Bank Building, The University of Sydney.

The agenda includes the election of new Councillors and the review and approval of the Annual Report and Financials.

All are welcome.

Pharmacy Research Innovations Dinner, 2012: Cancer – Update

Over 180 alumni and pharmacy industry friends supported the Faculty of Pharmacy Foundation fundraising event last year, generously raising a total of $50,000 from the auction. The money raised has been used to purchase essential cancer research laboratory equipment for the Faculty’s research team investigating how nanotherapeutics can help to reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy.

Of those who attended, we’d love to see the photographs of your adventures from the auction items/experiences, such as the one sent by the Afaras Family. Alumni, Claire and Michael Afaras (Mat.Med '59) were the successful bidders for the seven-day stay at the Bali Escape Luxury Villa, and took their families along to celebrate Claire's 75th birthday in March 2013 (the eleven grandchildren were left in Australia!).

Alumni Claire and Michael Afaras and family at the Bali Villa, won by auction at the Cancer Research Fundraising Dinner, 2012

Faculty of Pharmacy Foundation Council Members

Mr Maurice Renshaw

Mr Renshaw is an alumnus of the Faculty of Pharmacy, receiving his Bachelor of Pharmacy in 1972. He served as President of Parke-Davis USA from ’96 to 2000, and was appointed Corporate Vice President in 1998. Maurice was Executive Vice President of the Pfizer Consumer Group and Vice President of Pfizer Inc from 2000 – 2003, retiring from Pfizer in 2004. Maurice is now on the Board of CSL Pty Ltd, an international firm which develops and manufactures vaccines and protein biotherapies, and Chairman of the Innovation and Development Committee of the CSL Board, which is focused on new product development, life-cycle management and safety of CSL’s product portfolio, including the development of protein-based medicines for treating serious human diseases. Mr Renshaw is the new President of the Foundation.

Ms Lee Ausburn

Ms Ausburn has been an Independent Director of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) since October 2008. Prior to 2007, she held a number of positions over a 24-year period until 2007 at Merck and Co Inc (Merck, Sharp and Dohme outside the USA), a multinational research based pharmaceutical company. From 2004-07 Lee was Vice-President, Asia with general management and P&L responsibility for the Company’s subsidiaries across the Asia Pacific region (approx. sales of US$1 billion and 3000 employees). A registered pharmacist with B.Pharm., M.Pharm. and Dip.Hosp.Pharm. (University of Sydney), Lee held positions in retail and hospital pharmacy as well as with the Pharmaceutical Society of NSW prior to joining Merck. Lee is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is the new vice president of the Foundation.

Mr Jim Tait

Mr Tait was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and retired on 31 December 2004 after 40 years with the firm. He continues to undertake consultancy work for PwC and is on the Advisory Council of the PwC Foundation. As a partner at PwC, he specialised in advising companies and senior executives in relation to taxation issues. He held a number of leadership positions in the firm including Leader of the Employment & Wealth and Private Client Services business units of PwC. Jim was appointed to the Board of the AMP Foundation in December 1998 and has spent 10 years supporting the Foundation’s focus on indigenous education, community involvement in philanthropy and capacity building in the non-profit sector.

Mr Anthony J Williams

Mr Tony Williams has enjoyed a career of more than thirty-five years in the international pharmaceutical and health care arena and has long-term interests in the structure and operation of systems in health care services and the marketing and professional promotion of health care goods and services. He has had CEO postings in Australasia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and senior executive roles in UK and USA, including with The Upjohn Company (later Pharmacia and Upjohn Inc.) and Delta West Pty Ltd. He has been active in industry, professional, and community organisations and charities. Amongst such roles he was President of the Council of the Medical Research Foundation of the University of Sydney, an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Pharmacy Management and served on the Council of the Institute. After returning to Australia in 1997 he established his private business consultancy, Asia Pacific Australia Strategic Consulting (APASC) providing strategic advice and problem solving to business and professional interests in Australia and Asia.

Mr Ross Brown AM

Mr Esmond Ross Brown is a Foundation Governor of the Foundation and a former President of the Pharmacy Profession's peak body, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. He has been prominent in the Pharmaceutical Industry having held Directorships in Pharmaceutical companies including United Australian Industries Ltd., API Ltd., Drug Houses of Australia Ltd., the Associated Drug Companies of Australia Ltd., and the Australian Pharmaceutical Publishing Co Ltd. Ross has been a tireless ambassador in the promotion of the University, especially the Faculty of Pharmacy for over 50 years since he qualified as a pharmacist in 1952. Most recently he helped the Faculty raise over $1 million as Deputy Chair of the Faculty of Pharmacy’s Building Expansion Campaign (2006-2008). In March 1997, Ross’s achievements and service to the University of Sydney were recognised when he was conferred with the Degree of Master of Pharmacy (honoris causa). Ross was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Sydney in 2009.

Professor Iqbal Ramzan

Professor Ramzan is the current Dean of Pharmacy and University Officer for the Foundation. Professor Ramzan completed his Pharmacy training in New Zealand and his research degrees at The University of Sydney obtaining his MSc and PhD specialising in Drug Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. Professor Ramzan spent five years at the State University of New York, Buffalo where he carried out postdoctoral training and held Faculty appointment. He was Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh before returning to Australia in 1988 where he has held academic positions as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor before being formally appointed Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy in 2008. In addition to his role as Dean, he is a PhD examiner, reviewer for peer reviewed journals and continues to supervise graduate students. Professor Ramzan is a registered pharmacist and holds a Diploma of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Professor Ramzan also served two terms as a Fellow of The University of Sydney Senate.

Three other members of the Faculty of Pharmacy Foundation Council include Mr Gerard Stevens, Mr Niels Bowen and Ms Shauna Jarrett, who is on the Foundation Council as a representative of the DVC (Community).

For more information on the Faculty of Pharmacy Foundation, please contact us on 02 9351 2831 or by email at .