Honoring Dean Kashuba’s Legacy of Excellence

For Angela, excellence isn’t just an ideal; it’s a way of life. Now a scholarship in her honor will create a lasting legacy of impact.

Story by Kelly Collins | Published April 23, 2025

A special message from Kelly Collins, President of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation and Associate Dean for External Affairs.

Our School has been blessed with extraordinary leaders. It all started with Vernon Howell, who played on Carolina’s only undefeated football team while serving as the founding dean of the UNC School of Pharmacy. Vernon was followed by a series of visionary deans, beloved professors, and innovative alumni, all of whom contributed to our standing as the nation’s top-ranked pharmacy school.

Without question, Angela Kashuba will go down in history as one of our School’s all-time greats. For Angela, excellence isn’t just an ideal; it’s a way of life. She leads with intelligence, drive, compassion, and integrity – and makes everyone around her immeasurably better.

Angela was named our School’s tenth dean in October 2019 and thrust into navigating the pandemic while balancing a significant budget deficit. Under her leadership, the School more than doubled its research enterprise, closed out the largest campaign of any US pharmacy school, and saw an exponential increase in the number of PharmD applicants. She inspired us to lead globally while at the same time remaining true to our roots as North Carolina’s only public pharmacy school.

When our School was named #1 yet again by US News & World Report, Angela was talked into being featured in a three-peat photo following the lead of Tar Heel legends Michael Jordan and Erin Matson. The day before the #1 announcement, Angela reached out concerned about the photo. A servant leader to the core, she did not want to appear to take credit for a ranking that was a reflection of our community’s excellence. This is classic Angela Kashuba: empowering others to elevate us all.

In her first town hall the summer before becoming dean, Angela spoke about wanting everyone who walks, or has walked, our halls to feel valued and connected. She reiterated this sentiment in her message announcing that she will step down as dean on May 31. Thanks to her leadership, engagement across our community is at an all-time high. Now it is our turn to make sure Angela knows how much we value her.

Many of us want to do something to share our gratitude for all that Angela has accomplished as dean. My husband and I have decided to make a gift in her honor. Our hope is that others will join us so that together we can create an endowed scholarship in her name.

Angela was the first person in her extended family to go to college. Due to her family’s financial situation, she attended pharmacy school as a commuter student traveling 1.5 hours each way. This personal experience has fueled her passion for building a best-in-class pharmacy scholarship program. As dean, she set an ambitious target to double the amount of scholarship support provided to PharmD students.

We aspire to create the Angela DM Kashuba First Light Scholarship as a legacy of impact that reflects her values and belief in the power of opportunity. In honor of Angela’s own journey, the scholarship will blaze a path for first-generation college students, ensuring that financial barriers don’t stand in the way of achieving their dreams.

For those who would like to contribute to the Angela DM Kashuba First Light Scholarship, you may give online, mail a check to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation (194 Finley Golf Course Road, Suite 106, Chapel Hill, NC 27517), or contact us for additional giving options.