The event is open to the public and sponsored by the UH College of Pharmacy and the Upsilon Chapter of Phi Lambda Sigma (PLS), the national honorary pharmacy leadership society.

Working as a pharmacist for more than 26 years, Van de Putte is now serving her third term as a Texas State Senator for District 26. In 2002, she became the chair of the Senate Hispanic Caucus, is currently the chair of the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus and was the former president of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. At the last Texas Pharmacy Association convention, she donated a gavel used in the Texas Senate for the convention's auction that UH pharmacy students then acquired because of how it represents to young leaders a way pharmacists can make a difference. Van de Putte will present that gavel to the PLS Upsilon Chapter following her lecture on leadership.

"I am honored to serve as keynote speaker of the University of Houston's James T. McCarty Leadership Lecture Series," said Van de Putte. "Tomorrow's leaders are on university campuses today, and I am excited about the opportunity to come before them. Students often feel as if they are moving targets of law-makers, but in my lecture I want to emphasize the importance of students being on-target when it comes to public policy. Students need to stay involved in policymaking, and in turn policy-makers will be held accountable to students' higher education needs."

The lecture series is named for James T. McCarty, a retired UH professor and alumnus who currently serves as an adjunct assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the UH College of Pharmacy. From graduation to retirement, McCarty has built a legacy of professionalism in the classroom and in pharmacy practice, and t
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Contact: Lisa Merkl
lkmerkl@uh.edu
713-743-8192
University of Houston
6-Feb-2006