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June 16, 2009

Deborah O'Malley, executive director, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Worcester campus

O'Malley

Deborah O'Malley is a longtime Worcester resident who's worked as a program administrator at the UMass Medical School, as a lawyer at the law firm of Bowditch & Dewey LLP and at Light Tower Wireless in Boxborough. Her newest position brings her to downtown Worcester and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.

Vital Stats:
Age: 54
Residence: Worcester
Education: Bachelor's in English and history from Smith College in Northampton; Law degree from Boston College Law School in Newton
Previous job: Lawyer for Light Tower Wireless LLC in Boxborough
Start date at new job: June 1

Q. How are you settling in at your new office?
A. Just great. Charlie Monahan, president of MCPHS, has assembled a first-class faculty and staff. Everyone, including the students, has been very helpful and welcoming.

Q. What's the biggest surprise you've had in starting the job?

A. I wasn't aware, as I'm sure is the case with many others in Worcester, just how much is happening at MCPHS. The college has invested $64 million in downtown Worcester and currently has 100 employees and 600 students studying in graduate programs in pharmacy, nursing and physician assistant studies. MCPHS is about to open a new academic building that it has just finished rehabilitating at 40 Foster St. And MCPHS sees community service and outreach as an integral part of the college's mission. For example, the college's pharmacy outreach program provides important information about prescription plans and medications.

Q. What challenges do you see in your new position?

A. Keeping up with President Monahan. He's a champion of downtown Worcester and a warrior for MCPHS. The president has a vision for the growth of MCPHS in Worcester, and an aggressive time table in which to accomplish some great things. With the new 40 Foster St. building, the college will grow by 400 students over three years. Also, the college has invested in four buildings totaling 70,000 square feet of space in the downtown block surrounded by Commercial, Foster, Norwich and Mechanic Streets which the college has yet to develop into academic space. The president wants to rehabilitate these buildings into state of the art academic space for new educational programs to meet the needs of the health professions.

Q. How different is this job from your previous position?

A. The move from Bowditch & Dewey to Light Tower was a move from a law firm to a business. Now I've moved to a higher education environment where I'll have the opportunity to be more involved with the Worcester community on a daily basis, which I look forward to.

Q. How close is this to what you imagined in high school you'd end up doing?

A. As a proud graduate of Doherty High in Worcester, I couldn't be happier to have landed where I did. Every work day will involve meeting new people out in the community and being a part of the growth and future of downtown Worcester.

Q. Where's the best place to get lunch near your new location?

A. Since the college is centrally located in downtown Worcester, it's close to several great places - Garden Fresh, Viva Bene, Pizzeria Uno, Eric's Patisserie, and Spoodles are among the favorites.

Q. What do you hope to be doing 10 years from now?

A. I hope to be right here at MCPHS helping grow President Monahan's vision of a vibrant and exciting Worcester campus with more than 2,000 students and more than 30 degrees and certificates.

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