Chapman Pharmacy Students Begin New Academic Year With White Coat Ceremony Class of 2028 commits to a career of patient care, integrity, and lifelong learning.

With cheers from family, friends, and future colleagues filling the Musco Center, 69 Chapman University School of Pharmacy (CUSP) students took their first steps toward becoming pharmacists at the 2025 White Coat Ceremony.

This annual tradition is a rite of passage for many rising healthcare professionals as the ceremony marks the beginning of CUSP’s three-year accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy program at Chapman.

This incoming class showcase backgrounds that will certainly commit to the belief in patient care, integrity and lifelong learning. Many are multilingual, some are first-generation, some are Chapman University alumni, and some have several years of healthcare experience already, including founding pharmacies, holding pharmacy technician roles, and hosting healthcare fairs. While no two students share the same story, they all took the Oath of the Pharmacist and dedicated themselves to the safety, wellbeing, and advocacy of their patients.

“You are stepping into one of the oldest and most trusted health professions,” said Senior Associate Dean Reza Taheri, Pharm.D. “You will be called upon to act with integrity, professionalism, and compassion in all aspects of your life- inside and outside the classroom, in the workplace, and in your personal relationships. Every interaction is a reflection of the pharmacist you are becoming.”

Other notable speakers included:

• Loriann De Martini, Pharm.D., CEO of the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• Lilia Xu, Pharm.D., VP of Strategic Development at California Pharmacists Association
• Sara Kurd-Misto, Pharm.D., Chair of the Alumni Advisory Board
• Paul Huynh, Pharm.D., Healthcare Supervisor at Walgreens

The White Coat Ceremony also honors a healthcare leader who exemplifies the highest standard of professionalism, entrepreneurialism, and compassion in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences with the Gavin Herbert Award. Kathy Giacomini, Ph.D., was honored as the 2025 recipient for a multitude of career accomplishments, including her groundbreaking research on bridging the relationship between pharmacogenomics and precision medicine in shedding light on how genetic variation influences drug efficacy.

In just three years, the Class of 2028 will graduate with their Doctor of Pharmacy and prepare to take the NAPLEX licensure exam. Welcome to the “pharmily”!

Chapman’s Master of Medical Sciences Physician Assistant Program will hold a White Coat Ceremony on December. The Doctor 
of Physical Therapy program will host ceremonies in September than again next June.