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With a focus on hands-on, active learning in the clinical setting, Dr. Lea Eiland has worked throughout her more than 20 years at Auburn University’s Harrison College of Pharmacy to share her love of pharmacy and medications with her students.

A recognized leader in the field, she has been honored for her work in the classroom over the years with awards from some of the top pharmacy professional organizations. This year, she adds to that list as a 2025 recipient of the prestigious Auburn University Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized with the most prestigious teaching award from Auburn University and I am especially honored to be the only professor from the College of Pharmacy to have ever received the Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Award for Excellence in Teaching,” said Eiland. “This award reflects my dedication to teaching the future pharmacists of our profession, implementing innovative teaching methods in the classroom and experiential settings, disseminating teaching and student outcomes through publications and presentations and providing meaningful student advising and mentoring, both within and beyond the classroom environment.” 

 

Faculty Awards 2025 | Lea Eiland

The award recognizes full-time faculty members who have demonstrated effective and innovative teaching methods and a continued commitment to student success through advising and mentoring.

For Eiland, she draws energy from seeing students learn and sees her role in their educational journey as an extension of improving health care for others.

“Seeing students learn and then apply concepts and skills to patient care excites me,” said Eiland. “We become pharmacists to help patients. When we can educate others who can then help more patients, we exponentially are improving patient care.”

Coming from a family of educators, she did not initially envision herself in an academic role. Her mother, grandmother and several aunts had all been educators, but after completing her pediatric specialty residency at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Amarillo in 2002, there was an opportunity to practice in pediatrics as a clinical faculty member with Auburn’s college of pharmacy.

“Educating learners in the clinical setting was a strong interest of mine and I had trained in a school of pharmacy and had experience teaching in the classroom, facilitating small group discussions and precepting so the position fit well,” said Eiland.

Faculty member points while standing in front of a classroom

Dr. Lea Eiland is the 2025 recipient of the Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching.

Making her way to the Plains, she joined a unique team of pharmacy educators managing multiple roles. One of the Harrison College of Pharmacy’s (HCOP) off-site faculty, she actively taught and mentored students while maintaining a pediatric pharmacy practice. Taking on such a role allowed her to combine her passion of working with patients and educating students.

“I enjoy working with children and caregivers to improve the health of pediatric patients,” said Eiland. “The general pediatrics setting exposes pharmacists to a wide range of ages and a broad range of disease states throughout the year leading to different daily challenges.”

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, she has essentially spent her entire professional career as a part of Auburn University. Entering as an assistant clinical professor, she has moved up the ranks and is currently a Hill Crest Clinical Professor and has served as the interim director of HCOP’s professional program the last four years, leading the college’s innovative doctor of pharmacy curriculum.

As a leader in the college’s mission to train practice ready graduates, she has embraced the opportunity to engage with students on a variety of levels.

“I believe hands-on, active learning and practical clinical practice applications are the two most effective instructional strategies,” said Eiland. “My clinical practice sites provided student pharmacists with numerous pediatric patient and caregiver educational interactions.

“During these rotations, I model interactions with other healthcare providers, like pediatricians, nurses and social workers, in the clinical setting. Thus, my role shifts from instructing, to modeling, to coaching, to facilitating students' learning. These real-life patient encounters must also be brought into the classroom.”

To make that transition to the classroom, she incorporates real-life patient case examples and outcomes, as well as simulation exercises so students have a real understanding of what they are seeing and hearing in practice.

“I am truly grateful for the support and encouragement from administration to further develop my skills as a faculty member and leader within the profession,” said Eiland. “I have been able to incorporate new teaching methodologies such as team-based learning into the classroom setting and be very active within pharmacy organizations at the national and state level to support our profession. I am grateful for my HCOP colleagues and friends for their collaboration and support throughout my career.”

An established leader in the profession, recognized as a Fellow of both the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Pediatric Pharmacy Association, she is also passionate about HCOP’s vision of leaders creating the next generation of leaders and change agents in health care. 

“We are all leaders in different ways and need leadership development to learn about our leadership skill strengths and how to adapt in various situations,” said Eiland. “It has been a joy seeing our students learn more about themselves and their leadership qualities, and then running for leadership positions within pharmacy organizations.”