Pharmacy Alumna’s Scholarship Aids Recruitment from Rural Virginia

Dee-Dee Logan knew when she was 8 years old that she wanted to follow in her uncle’s footsteps to become a pharmacist, and the MCV Campus was where she set her sights.

“I didn’t think of going anywhere else,” she recounted. “I’m very proud to have graduated from the School of Pharmacy. I always felt my education was second to none, and I never felt limited in what I could do in the profession.”

Her career included service in community pharmacies, but she also credits her education on the MCV Campus with allowing her to easily transition from working in retail to hospital pharmacies. Now retired, she has growing concerns about whether the cost of an education is a major deterrent to attracting the next generation to serve in community pharmacies in more rural areas like Woodstock, Virginia, where she grew up.

“It was a wonderful profession for me to enter, and it afforded me a lot of opportunities in life,” Logan said. “I always hoped that I’d be able to give back to the School of Pharmacy and was very pleased when the opportunity came about.”

This year, Logan, along with her husband Bill, a retired judge, decided to create the Logan Fund at the VCU School of Pharmacy to provide scholarships to recruit students from western and southwestern Virginia, with a preference for students who intend to return and practice in this area post-graduation.

“We realized the difficulties of helping attract students from rural areas when it comes to finances,” Logan said. “It’s a struggle, especially today. We wanted to establish and hopefully grow a scholarship to help young students from a rural part of Virginia on their path, and we also hope they may come back to those rural areas to serve.”

If you would like to support student scholarships at the School of Pharmacy, please contact Louie Correa, senior director of development, by calling 804-828-3016 or emailing lacorrea@vcu.edu.