Distinguished Alumni Award

Susan C. Winckler, 92BSPh, has risen quickly to a national leadership role in the area of pharmaceutical and health policy development since graduating from Iowa. As vice president for policy and communications and staff counsel for the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the national professional society of pharmacists located in Washington, DC, Winckler is the primary spokesperson for the association and its senior lobbyist on Capitol Hill.

Winckler showed promise early on as a student in the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. Professor Lloyd Matheson says of her, "Perhaps once in a decade a student comes through the College of Pharmacy who is so outstanding, and contributes to so many activities both inside and outside the college, that you regret that person's departure at graduation. Susan was such a person."

Winckler-whose parents both graduated from the College of Pharmacy-was an exceptional student leader involved in extracurricular and leadership activities that included organizations such as the College of Pharmacy Student Council, Alpha Xi Delta Women's Fraternity, and the UI Homecoming Executive Council. She was a member of the Hawkeye Marching Band, was named an Outstanding Collegiate Scholar, was a finalist in the National Patient Counseling Competition in 1992, and served on the dean's search committee from 1991 to 1992.

After completing her UI degree and working for the Iowa Medicaid program for a year, Winckler went to work for APhA. None of her former UI teachers are surprised by her quick ascension in the most important national organization in her field.

In her "spare time," Winckler enrolled in Georgetown Law School's evening program while continuing to work full time for APhA. She was selected for the dean's list all three years in the program, and in 2001 graduated in the top ten percent of her class.

Winckler now heads the legislative affairs programs for APhA and in that role works with legislative affairs staff from pharmacy and other health professions to develop legislation related to key healthcare-related national policy issues such as universal health coverage, Medicare reform, and Medicare drug coverage-one of the most prominent issues on our current national agenda.

As spokesperson for APhA, Winckler has given countless presentations around the country and appeared on national television programs such as CNN, Good Morning America, C-SPAN's Washington Journal, CNN Financial News, the Wall Street Journal Report, NBC's Dateline, and CBS Evening News. She has been interviewed for numerous national publications including USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, and she has written numerous Washington Insider columns for APhA's official publication Pharmacy Today, which is distributed to more than 100,000 pharmacists.

While continuing to make significant contributions to her profession at the national level, Winckler returns to Iowa frequently to meet with students, pharmacists, and the Iowa Pharmacy Association. The UIAA is proud to honor her as an inspirational example of what a UI graduate can accomplish.

Winckler is a member of the UI Alumni Association.