On September 4, 2015, John Autian, PhD passed away at the age of 91. Dr. Autian was a native of Philadelphia and earned a BS in Pharmacy at Temple University and a MS and PhD at the University of Maryland. He arrived at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Pharmacy in 1967 from the University of Texas and established the Materials Science Toxicology Laboratories. The Laboratories reached a level of national and international prominence and helped establish new federal regulations on medical devices. In 1973, Dr. Autian was named the first recipient of the UT National Alumni Association Public Service Award. He served as president of the UTHSC Faculty Senate and was chair of the Department of Molecular Biology. He was named dean of the College of Pharmacy on August 1, 1975. Dean Autian pushed for approval of the PharmD degree as the entry-level degree in pharmacy. He served as a dean until 1982, when he was named dean of the UT Graduate School of Medical Sciences and vice chancellor for Research, serving until his retirement in 1985. During his career, Dr. Autian authored or co-authored numerous articles in the fields of pharmacology, toxicology and biomedical materials. After retirement, Dr. Autian worked tirelessly as an international humanitarian and health science educator and was a proponent of the Memphis Biomedical Research Zone.
A few current College of Pharmacy faculty members were appointed by Dean Autian. Below two faculty share their remembrances:
Dr. Peter Chyka, professor of Clinical Pharmacy and associate dean for the Knoxville campus, recalled, “At the end of my third year at UT, Dean Autian awarded a seed research grant to me to study an aspect of the treatment of iron poisoning. It was a rather simple bench research project with a modest budget. It inspired me to engage in in vitro and, later in vivo research albeit with steep learning curves for me to master basic techniques. That simple project led to a publication in a major national journal – The Journal of Pediatrics – and helped guide therapy in children and adults. He took a chance on an inexperienced, young PharmD “maybe-wanna-be-researcher” which is still paying dividends decades later. He lent his support, resources and talents for projects locally and initiatives far away (India, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere) which benefitted many people throughout the world. In his own way Dean Autian was an international ambassador for pharmacy, toxicology and philanthropy.”
Dr. Richard Helms, professor and chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, remembers Dean Autian “showing up unannounced at lectures I was giving in the immunology module not long after I arrived. He would always write a critique, including both comments on content and delivery. Apparently my content was okay, but delivery could be improved, especially my slides were deficient (real slides prepared by faculty with a camera and handmade graphics)”. Dr. Helms also added, “I remember Dr. Autian proposing what he called the Biozone, an incubator like the current Bioworks. Clearly a man of vision, he could see how Biozone was a direction for the campus and our city, although at the time he had little resources for the development of the program. It took a couple of decades, but we are building his vision now. As an Easterner from Philadelphia, Dean Autian clearly spoke him mind, rarely tempering his thoughts or comments. You always understood what Dean Autian was thinking, and the clarity was refreshing – although the Southern temperament was easily wounded at times.”