by Karina Brady, Public Relations Writer
Kasandra Chambers, a 2016 graduate of Cedarville University’s inaugural Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) class, recently accepted a position as pharmacy manager for the top-ranked C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Chambers will share responsibility with a co-manager for the pharmacy department at the University of Michigan Health System’s 350-bed Children’s Hospital. Her position will involve both clinical and operational pharmacy services, and she will oversee about 50 people including all critical care clinical pharmacist specialists.
“I knew that the Michigan opportunity was the right fit,” she said. “My training at Cedarville University, and the leadership skills that I gained there, have really set me up for this manager position now.”
Chambers is confident in the education and training she received from Cedarville University’s Pharm.D. program. She was surrounded by role models and a unique faculty support system.
“Many of my Cedarville professors embodied servant leadership so much. They were my role models, and I have adapted my leadership style to be like that,” she said. “I know that if I continue to trust God and have that same heart to serve, God will continue to use me in big ways.”
Chambers mentioned that even though it has been two years since she graduated from Cedarville, she still relies on those faculty relationships to advise and encourage her.
“Before I made my decision, I was trying to think of who I could call to get an outsider’s opinion,” she said. “I was searching through my phone and found the dean of pharmacy’s phone number. I texted him about the job offer and within a second of my text, he calls me.
"That goes to show how much of an impact relationships at Cedarville can make and how much they care about their alumni. That’s something you just can’t get anywhere else.”
Chambers is currently finishing up a two-year pharmacy administration residency at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and will earn her Master of Science in health-system pharmacy administration degree from Ohio State University in May. She will begin her managerial position in Michigan on August 1.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,963 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.