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“I enjoyed working in the (���⴫ý) College of Pharmacy,” says Caldwell, who served as its director after practising as a hospital pharmacist and Director of Pharmacy at the IWK. “It was invigorating working with students, faculty and pharmacists. It was an exciting time to be involved in changes in our profession.”

For MacCara, it is the people she met throughout her career that stand out as a highlight. She returned to ���⴫ý as a faculty member after earning a PharmD degree, providing the opportunity to work closely with faculty members and pharmacists who had served as role models when she was a student. “It was wonderful being part of the pharmacy community and seeing students I had taught go on to have successful careers.”

The idea for a class gift

MacCara and Caldwell were dismayed by a deteriorating display featuring photos of past class members that was mounted in the Burbridge Building. Pictures were missing or torn, and parts were falling off. It was a problem they wanted to help solve. They hatched a plan to set up a fund for the display’s repairs and revitalization and encouraged fellow members of their graduating class to contribute alongside them to raise the necessary funds.

After classmate and fellow advocate Stan Knowles (BScPharm’74) shared their intentions during the reunion dinner, donations began coming in. They got to work sourcing photos from Dal Archives, College of Pharmacy and Dal yearbooks, and consulting with Dal Managing Director of Creative Services Paul Williams to whom they offer great praise in bringing their vision to life. In all, it was a year-long project that brought to light 87 class photos beginning with 1912, the first pharmacy class at ���⴫ý. 

“It’s great to be able to mark this 50-year anniversary,” says MacCara, adding she is “really pleased with the results” and the positive feedback and thanks she and Caldwell received from their classmates.

“We left a legacy to the College of Pharmacy,” says Caldwell.

Visitors to the Burbridge Building on College Street can enjoy the display in the hallway of the main floor whenever the building is open.

Another positive outcome is that the class ended up raising more funds than the project required and were able to direct the remaining $3,000 to student bursaries distributed through funds that honour two of their deceased classmates — Karen Zed (BScPharm’74) and Roger Montigny (BScPharm’74).

“We’ve lost some classmates in the years since we graduated,” says MacCara, who feels good about honouring Zed and Montigny in this way while investing in future pharmacists through bursaries.

They also point out that the display only reaches as far as the Class of 1997, so it will fall to other graduating classes to see that it is updated.

We enjoyed our careers in pharmacy, and wanted to celebrate that. — Rita Caldwell.

“Pharmacy has been good to us,” adds MacCara.

And through their leadership, MacCara and Caldwell have been good to the College of Pharmacy and future pharmacists, too.