Mary Munson Runge
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mary Munson Runge (1928 – January 8, 2014) was the first female, the first
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, and the first employee community
pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...
to be elected president of the
American Pharmacists Association The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more tha ...
(APhA).


Early life and family

Runge was born in 1928 in
Donaldsonville, Louisiana Donaldsonville (historically ) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Baton ...
. Runge's father, John Harvey Lowery, was a pharmacy owner and a
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
, notable for running the first pharmacy in Donaldsonville. He was generally regarded as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Donaldsonville, and was highly charitable with his considerable wealth.


Career


Pharmacy practice

Runge graduated from the
Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic Historically black c ...
College of Pharmacy in 1948. At the time, she was one of the few females in the profession of pharmacy. After graduating from college, Runge moved to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and practiced hospital pharmacy for 21 years. In 1971, she became a community pharmacist at Sylvester Flower's Apothecary. The practice was located in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, serving needy patient areas. Runge is quoted to have said, "The greatest experience was helping poor African American people who couldn't even pay for their medicine. Pharmacy gave me an opportunity to help people who needed help."


Professional service

Runge served in leadership positions within numerous professional organizations. She was president of the Northern California Society of Hospital Pharmacists in 1963 and the California Society of Hospital Pharmacists in 1967. She served on the California State Board of Pharmacy, and was the president of the California Pharmacists Association in 1974. Runge served as the first female APhA representative to the American College of Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) from 1972 to 1982. In 1979, Runge was sworn in as the president of the
American Pharmacists Association The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more tha ...
(APhA). As an African American female, her appointment ended a 126-year history of Caucasian males serving as APhA's president. Notably, she was also the first employee community pharmacist to have been a president of APhA, rather than an owner of a community pharmacy. As part of her tenure as APhA president, Runge formally created the APhA Task Force on Women in Pharmacy, as well as APhA's Office of Women's Affairs. Her two terms ended in 1981. She served on federal committees, including the Institute of Medicine Pharmacy Advisory Panel for the study of the costs of educating healthcare professionals, the National Academy of Sciences in 1974, the Reagan-Bush Health Policy Advisory Committee in 1980, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (what would later become the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...
),Full text of the Department of Education Organization Act
P.L. 96-88.
and the Prescription Drug Payment Review Commission. Runge retired in 1994.


Awards

Runge received
honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy (Doctor of Science) and
Ohio Northern University Ohio Northern University (Ohio Northern or ONU) is a private college in Ada, Ohio, United States. Founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871, ONU offers over 60 programs across five undergraduate and graduate colleges and is affiliated with the Unit ...
(Doctor of Pharmacy) in recognition of her work for the profession. She was named Pharmacist of the Year in 1978 by the California Pharmacists Association. Runge was inducted into the California Pharmacists Association Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1996, she received the Hugo H. Schaefer Award from APhA.


Death

Runge died on January 8, 2014. Her memorial service was held on Saturday, February 15 at the First United Methodist Church in
Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...
. APhA created a posthumous scholarship in her name.


References


Further reading


Runge's address
to the American Pharmacists Association, as its president {{DEFAULTSORT:Runge, Mary Munson 20th-century American pharmacists American women in business 1928 births 2014 deaths People from Donaldsonville, Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana alumni 20th-century African-American women American women pharmacists 21st-century American women 20th-century African-American people African-American pharmacists