Outstanding Alumna Award - 2018

The Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation introduced the Outstanding Alumna Award at the 1982 Convention in Atlanta to recognize ZTA alumnae who have become outstanding leaders in their chosen professions, demonstrated significant accomplishments and made notable contributions to society. Many of the past recipients have also served the Fraternity in their post-collegiate years, but that is not a requirement for the award. These outstanding women serve as role models for all members of Zeta Tau Alpha and their informative and inspiring speeches are highlights of our biennial Convention. You can view all Outstanding Alumna recipients here.

2018 Winners

Dr. Kelly Smith
Gamma Pi Chapter
The University of Georgia

As a student and a professional, Kelly Smith has frequently heard the question, “Why pharmacy?” Her answer always involves problem solving, teamwork and a desire to help others.

“I like looking at a situation and finding a way through it with critical thinking,” Kelly said. “I like the behind-the-scenes role in helping nurses, physicians and other pharmacists be more successful. I love being on the team that puts patient care first.”

As the director of the world’s first Drug Information Center at University of Kentucky, Kelly was the expert on the other end of the phone. As the internet grew and provided access to drug information, the need for the center diminished. Then, Kelly turned her attention to serving others by facilitating and inspiring their success within the UK College of Pharmacy.

Kelly had worked with pharmacy students in the information center and in the classroom. She had a passion for creating great opportunities for students and wanted to become involved in student recruitment and national residency accreditation, but she didn’t see herself as the extroverted leader administrators tagged for those roles.

During a training program, she needed to write a personal mission statement. “It was a struggle for me,” Kelly remembered. “So I chose a line from our Creed: ‘to be true to ourselves.’ I chose to be true to myself, to be authentic and to have my own way of doing things.”

That authenticity led to advancements with the UK College of Pharmacy and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Each time, Kelly agreed to a larger role than she believed she was ready to handle. “The common element of my career progress was that someone else saw the quality of my work and interpreted that as my leadership potential. When people said, ‘you would be great at this,’ I trusted their faith in me.”

Kelly’s newest opportunity to be authentic will be as the first female dean of The University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, beginning Aug. 1, 2018.

ZTA Alumnae Involvement

A member of the Lexington, KY Alumnae Chapter, Kelly previously served as a Province President and received the Certificate of Merit and her Honor Ring. In 1999, as National Standards and Enrichment Chairman, she authored ZTA’s ground-breaking programming on acquaintance rape drugs for the Matter of Balance wellness notebook and made presentations at Convention and National Leadership Conference.

Professional Leadership

Eight years into her career, Dr. Smith was appointed to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists committee that conducts pharmacy residency accreditation. She later became the youngest chair of that committee in modern history. Having served in multiple state and national ASHP leadership positions, Dr. Smith was installed as the organization’s president in June 2018.

Career Path

Dr. Smith joined the University of Kentucky Health Care staff as a drug information specialist in 1994 and became an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy in 1996. She achieved tenured professor status in 2007. She was appointed associate dean of the college in 2009 and served as interim dean from 2015 to 2016. Recently, she was named dean of The University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, her alma mater.