Dr. Shinn remembered

By: Cory Berlekamp

Email: berlekampc@findlay.edu

Twitter: @Cberlekamp

The University of Findlay and the College of Pharmacy mourn the loss of one of their professors, Dr. Bradley Shinn, Pharm.D. Shinn died unexpectedly at the age of 63 on the morning of Feb. 16.

He began work for the College of Pharmacy in 2007. In 2010-2011 he won the UF College of Pharmacy Teacher-of-the-Year award, his third teaching award. According to students and faculty, his loss was unexpected but he leaves behind a legacy of passion for both pharmacy and teaching.

“I’ve always heard students say great things about him and they always learned a lot from him,” said Dr. Patrick Malone, the associate dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Findlay. “They loved his passion for these things and loved that he tried to help them. He would even send them articles after they graduated.”

This is the second job that Malone has worked with Shinn. According to Malone they had started on almost the same day at Creighton University in the early 90s. He said he knows that the CU community mourns his death as well.

“They were rather saddened by his loss even though it has been over 20 years since he left there,” said Malone. “I think it says something about someone that they’ve made that much impact.”

These feelings also rippled through the student body according to Shiader Thao, a fifth year pharmacy student at the University of Findlay.

“I just can’t believe he’s gone, it was just very sudden,” said Thao. “I saw him last Thursday and as usual I asked for one thing and he gave me 10 things. He told me he thought that I had a lot of potential.”

This was characteristic of Shinn according to Thao and one of the things that the students would laugh about but also enjoyed about the professor.

“He would always print us a whole bunch of stuff, just over the top,” said Thao. “Even if we didn’t probably need it, he was the person that would always give us all of the information.”

Thao believed that it was not just his ability to cover the curriculum that made him a great professor but his passion for going beyond it and teaching about the real world and what he believed was right.

“He was very opinionated,” said Thao. “But I do want to reflect that if one day I’m out in the field and I feel strongly about something, that I would have the courage to stand up and speak my mind to.”

This sentiment was also felt by Malone.

“You don’t necessarily always agree with him,” said Malone. “But I don’t know anybody that doesn’t respect him.”

The funeral was held on Thursday, Feb. 21 at Coldren-Crates Funeral Home. According to Malone, the pharmacy department plan on celebrating Shinn’s birthday next week, he would have been 64 years old.

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