Associate Professor Andrea K. Hubbard spent much of her 33 years at the School of Pharmacy coaching students to break out of their comfort zones and step up as leaders.
And now, though she recently retired, she plans to keep on supporting student leaders—this time with two new scholarships. One supports Pharmacy Studies and Pharm.D. student leaders and the other, a bequest with her husband, Alan Seilhammer ’81 (BUS), ’82 MBA, will help student leaders in Pharmacy Student Government.
“I hope this encourages more students to take on leadership roles, even if they were uncertain or thought ‘I could never be a leader. I’m just too shy or I’m just too busy,’” Hubbard says. “I’m hoping these scholarships will offset some of their tuition but also encourage them to take on more leadership roles. If they start doing it in college, they are going to continue to do it in their residencies or their first jobs.”
Hubbard, who was also associate dean for 10 years, has been devoted to the School of Pharmacy for years. She was part of a team of four professors that started the Pharmacy LEADERS Track program, which strives to identify and distinguish student leaders prior to graduation.
“Dr. Hubbard’s generous leadership scholarships are symbolic of the heartfelt dedication she demonstrated while teaching at UConn,” School of Pharmacy Dean Philip Hritcko says. “Dr. Hubbard touched so many lives and influenced countless students to believe in themselves and take on leadership roles around the nation. We are thankful that her kindness and encouragement will continue to help support students become tomorrow’s pharmacy leaders.”
In 2020, Hubbard was honored with the Dean Robert L. McCarthy Faculty Service Award, an annual award given to full-time faculty members who have provided outstanding service to their department, school, the University, the profession of pharmacy, and the public. The award recognized her energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to educating future pharmacists and instilling them with curiosity and passion.
Hubbard, who grew up in Oklahoma and Tennessee, says she has always enjoyed teaching even from a young age.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve really enjoyed working with younger people,” she adds. “It’s kept me very young as well. I think if you ask anyone who has stayed in academia for as long as I did that’s really the driving force.”
Hubbard earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and then went on to the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center to complete her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology. She did her postdoctoral work at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of Arizona.
Hubbard retired in 2021 and moved to southern Utah, where she and her husband practice beekeeping and collecting honey. An avid gardener, she recently completed an Utah master gardeners’ program to learn what and how to plant in the arid desert. Hubbard is also exploring keeping her hand in teaching by offering courses at local community colleges.
She will return to Connecticut on May 10 when the School of Pharmacy holds a retirement party in her honor. She hopes that former students and colleagues will consider donating to the annual scholarship fund so it can help more students.
