25 Years of Caring Leadership at Student Health Pharmacy
Bentley transitions to staff pharmacist, Westmoreland assumes director role
OXFORD, Miss. – For a quarter century, Sandra Bentley has been the heartbeat of the pharmacy at the V.B. Harrison Health Center at the University of Mississippi. On July 1, she will pass the director’s torch to Chad Westmoreland, a colleague she trusts and a teammate she admires.
“I'll transition to staff pharmacist, and Chad will assume the role of director,” said Bentley, director of the pharmacy and clinical assistant professor in Pharmacy Practice. “I feel lucky to have had this extraordinary career here, and I'm looking forward to the next phase of it.”
Bentley came to Ole Miss after nearly a decade in retail pharmacy, and what she found was a community unlike any she had known. Over the course of her tenure, she has watched the university grow and evolve around her, and guided the pharmacy through changes that kept pace with it.
“Our student population is more than double what it was when I started here,” Bentley said. “That statistic alone means the volume is very different today from when I began 25 years ago.”
The pharmacy has grown along with the campus, undergoing renovations to become more accessible and customer-facing. Under Bentley’s watch, the site expanded its physical footprint, and added a private room for consultations and administering vaccinations, significant upgrades for a facility serving thousands of students and employees. The tight-knit group she leads includes Westmoreland, pharmacy technician Alyson Hamm, and a work-study student each semester.
"I love this team and the students and university employees who come see us,” Bentley said. “This is a great community.”
As director, Bentley has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to serving the campus community, including coordinating pharmacy services and immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring medication access during the Winter Storm Fern. Her leadership has also driven the offering of various pharmacy services and supported new initiatives. The Student Health Pharmacy is currently serving as a pharmacy residency training site, and engaged in offering various medication management services across campus.
“I want to thank Sandy Bentley for her extraordinary 25 years of service to the University of Mississippi,” said Donna Strum, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “Sandy’s impact reaches far beyond dispensing medications. She has cared deeply for our students and employees while also providing an outstanding training site for our student pharmacists. Her dedication, professionalism, and commitment to our campus community have made the Student Health Pharmacy a trusted and essential resource.”
Stepping into the director role is Westmoreland, who has spent the last 12 years on staff as a pharmacist and instructor in Pharmacy Practice. For him, the appeal of the job is more than simply the work itself.
“This job serves a unique population and that’s part of what makes this such a great job,” Westmoreland said. “We serve university employees, and this is wonderful for them to have their pharmacy and medical facility within walking distance. And we serve students, who are on their own for the first time in their lives and we have the opportunity of being a source of reassurance and comfort for them.”
The transition from home to college, from a parent managing prescriptions to a student navigating their own health, is something Westmoreland thinks about often.
“Most of our students have never lived away from their families and they haven’t had to think about things like making appointments to see a doctor or pick up their medicine,” Westmoreland said. “It can be scary and intimidating to be sick and far away from home, so we try to be understanding and helpful and let the students and their parents know that we’re going to take care of them.”
As director, Westmoreland hopes to raise awareness of services that students may not realize are available to them, including medication delivery. And he’s happy to be doing that alongside people he enjoys being around in an environment that he loves.
“I'm thankful to Sandy for her leadership and I’m glad she’ll still be working with us. And Alyson Hamm, our pharmacy technician, is top notch, and helps keep this place running smoothly.” Westmoreland said. “This team is the best I've ever worked with."