Prescribing leadership

Lucinda Maine has always had an eye on the future. The pharmacist, researcher, educator, advocate, mentor and CEO emerita of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) has never chased small dreams. As she reflects on her vibrant career in pharmacy, Maine traces it all back to Auburn.

After a distinguished and meaningful career and recent retirement from the AACP, Maine, a 1980 pharmacy graduate, was invited to return to the Plains this spring to deliver the commencement address for Harrison College of Pharmacy graduates. Her graduation address is definitely not the first time she’s focused on pouring into future Auburn pharmacists. As a donor and engaged alumna, she has devoted much of her career to shaping the future of the field for the next generation. 

Her commitment to making a difference and investing in others is why she and her husband Dan Albrant believe in giving back. But her Auburn experience is what motivates her to give to Auburn.

“I often tell people that I attribute every success and achievement in my life to my Auburn pharmacy education,” she said. “And it’s absolutely true. From the moment I stepped onto campus, I experienced the support, mentorship and encouragement to pursue big dreams.”

Choosing an Auburn pharmacy education

Maine credits her interest in pharmacy to some guidance from her stepfather and a great deal of mentorship from a local pharmacist in the Tillman’s Corner area near Mobile, Alabama.

“My stepdad asked me if I had ever considered pursuing a career in pharmacy,” she said. “And I hadn’t — not once — so he encouraged me to talk with a fabulous Auburn pharmacist in town. What 17-year-old listens to her stepdad?”

Maine did listen. And that’s when her Auburn pharmacy adventure began.

Charles Dart, a 1964 Auburn pharmacy graduate, regaled Maine with the benefits of a career in pharmacy. Then he hired her to work in his store the summer after her freshman year so she could discover the fulfilling career choice for herself.

“I learned so much from watching him,” she said. “My love for the profession of pharmacy deepened at that moment and I honestly never turned back.”

Maine blazed trails during her years at Auburn, serving in student leadership roles at the local and the national level with the American Pharmacists Association.

In addition to the summer she spent working in Dart’s hometown pharmacy, Maine gained a variety of experience working in the University of South Alabama Medical Center, the Upjohn Company, the Indian Health Service pharmacy headquarters and even a shipyard chemistry lab.

“I graduated from Auburn knowing there were all of these remarkable opportunities for me as a pharmacist — both traditional and nontraditional ones,” she said.

Embracing the next chapter

After earning a doctorate from the University of Minnesota, Maine’s dynamic nearly 40-year-long career in pharmacy officially began. She worked in pharmacy education at the University of Minnesota and Samford University School of Pharmacy. She also served in senior leadership with the American Pharmacists Association before accepting the top leadership role at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

In retirement, Maine and her husband live a life she calls “preferment,” a phrase coined after methodical research into the post-career choices of several of her peers.

“I sent some questions to colleagues who had recently retired, asking how they knew it was the right time and what they’ve chosen to pursue since retiring,” she said.

Today, she describes her retirement as doing what she most prefers to do — preferment.

In addition to retaining board positions, she supports Albrant’s work as a pastor of two local churches, joined the board of the American Institute for the History of Pharmacy and will be on the ballot during an upcoming convention to serve a five-year term on the board of trustees with U.S. Pharmacopeia, an independent, scientific nonprofit organization focused on building trust in the supply of safe, quality medicines.

Leadership has always come naturally to Maine and her career demonstrates not only a passion for leading in her field but also for inspiring leadership in others. As she charts a new path in retirement, one of the pursuits she most prefers is investing in leadership opportunities for future pharmacists.

Maine and Albrant have given generously to support pharmacy education at Auburn through gifts to the Harrison College of Pharmacy. Looking to the future, she’s committed to using her talent, time and treasure to invest in innovative and robust leadership opportunities for students.

“Education has been so foundational to the life we’ve been able to build and to our ability to give,” she said. “So, we ask, ‘what is the greatest need,’ and then we just go and give where the solutions are.”