Late alumna’s husband makes donation to Ohio Northern University’s Raabe College of Pharmacy

Ohio Northern University’s Raabe College of Pharmacy has recently received a financial gift from Dan Stitzel, husband of late alumna Barbara (Reeves) Stitzel, to support its HealthWise Pharmacy and the HealthWise Mobile Clinic in memory of Barbara, who was a pharmacist for more than four decades.

According to an article on Ohio Northern University’s website, Stuart Beatty, who serves as the dean of the Raabe College of Pharmacy, was quoted as saying of the gift, “The generous gift of the Stitzel’s will have a profound impact on ONU HealthWise. Our operations are targeted to provide our community access to care, while showing our students the critical role pharmacists can play in serving medically underserved areas. To be able to add cancer screening and prevention events enhances both the power of our hands-on education and the impact on the health of our community.”

Dan chose to make his donation in honor of his wife to support programs that promote and provide cancer screenings. When he learned about the HealthWise Mobile Clinic, which provides mobile preventative healthcare services to residents of rural Hardin County and its surrounding areas, he knew his wife would have loved the service.

He said, “The town we grew up in could have benefited from a mobile clinic like this. Especially my parents who lived on a farm and were reluctant to seek any type of medical care.”

Dan and Barbara both grew up in a small rural town in western New York called Gowanda. The two were high school sweethearts and maintained a long distance relationship while Dan attended Syracuse University and Barbara attended Ohio Northern University. Dan’s career required them to move around a lot, and in all seven states they lived in, Barbara continued to obtain pharmacy licensure so that she could remain in the career she was so passionate about. 

Speaking of his wife, Dan said, “Her passion for the profession went beyond the workplace. Family and friends frequently turned to her for trusted advice for their health and medication needs.”

Max Lambdin, who serves as the university’s executive director of development, said of the donation and the impact it will have, “We are deeply grateful to Dan for honoring Barb’s life and legacy in this way. Dan told me Barb often talked about how ONU was the foundation of her successful career. While she wasn’t one who sought the spotlight, he knows she would be pleased to support the education of future pharmacists and help bring healthcare to underserved communities.”

As for Dan, he hopes the donation will inspire more individuals to walk in his late wife’s footsteps. He said, “My hope is that this gift will help future pharmacists develop the same passion for building trust with patients that Barb had. Barb tried to make a difference for others during her life, and with this gift, I am trying to do that too, in her name.”

For more information about Ohio Northern University, visit the school’s website.