Dr. Janardan B. Nagwekar, pioneering Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty member, dies at 90

By Hanley N. Abramson

On October 9, 2021, the college lost one of its pioneering faculty members when Professor Emeritus Janardan B. Nagwekar passed away just a few weeks shy of his 91st birthday.Dr. Nagwekar

Dr. Nagwekar was born Oct. 25, 1930, in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, where he received BSc degrees in Chemistry (University of Baroda, 1953) and Pharmaceutics (University of Bombay, 1956) before taking a position as an analytical chemist at Dumax division of Pfizer in Bombay. He then came to the United States to continue his education at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (now University of the Sciences in Philadelphia), where he received his BS in Pharmacy (1960) and PhD in Pharmaceutics from Temple University (1965).

On July 1, 1965, Dr. Nagwekar joined the university as assistant professor of pharmaceutics in the then-College of Pharmacy, eventually advancing to the rank of full professor with tenure before retiring in 1995. Over the course of his three-decade career in the college, Jan exhibited an unswerving commitment to teaching and learning excellence, whether in the classroom or research laboratory. He always demanded the best from his students, graduate and undergraduate alike, as the disciplines of biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics moved from their early days on the periphery of professional practice to the central roles they play in contemporary patient care.  

Dr. Nagwekar was instrumental in launching the Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program in the 1960s and 1970s, as he trained many of the college’s first PhD students. All told, before he retired in 1995, Jan directed the doctoral dissertations of a total of eight graduate students, several of whom went on to influential careers in academia and industry.Dr. Nagwekar

His research into fundamental mechanisms of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion resulted in 20 peer-reviewed publications. The strong research foundation the college and its Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences enjoy today owes much to the groundwork he laid during those early years. In concert with these activities, Dr. Nagwekar introduced into the curriculum innovative courses in biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics that foresaw the emerging impact of these disciplines on the pharmacy profession.  

His appreciation of student excellence is further exemplified by his longstanding service as faculty advisor to the Rho Chi Society, pharmacy’s honor society. In recognizing the achievements of students, he also sought to inspire them by inviting to campus many noted scientists and educators as speakers at the annual Roland T. Lakey Lecture Series.

Then, too, was his exemplary service to the university. More than once, he served on the university’s Promotion and Tenure Committee – a demanding assignment given the time commitment required and the impact of the committee’s decisions in shaping the university’s faculty for decades to come.Dr. Nagwekar

For many years, Jan represented the college in the Academic Senate, as well as the Graduate Council. Moreover, on a number of occasions, he was called upon to take on important leadership roles in those governance bodies. His attention to detail and ability to bring opposing sides together while working on contentious issues earned him the respect of his colleagues across campus.

Dr. Nagwekar was predeceased by his wife of 22 years, Natalie, and is survived by his stepdaughter Jeannie Milstein, his grandnephew Pratik Nagwekar of Fort Worth, Texas, and his very close friend Shellie Louis-Ferdinand, as well as a host of friends and colleagues who cherish his memory.  A traditional Hindu funeral service was conducted in Flower Mound, Texas, on October 13.

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