Cougar Contributors

Mading Society Inducts New Members, Honors Milestone Giving Among Alumni and Friends

Oct. 13 — In recognition for their loyal support of the University of Houston College of Pharmacy and its teaching, research and service mission, UHCOP Dean F. Lamar Pritchard, Ph.D., R.Ph., welcomed 10 alumni and friends of the college into the Mading Society of benefactors during the society's 2023 Induction & Dinner Oct. 6 at Houston's Bell Tower on 34th Street.

"The fact that our Mading Society ranks continue to grow each year is a testament to the faith and pride our alumni, faculty and supporters have in our ceaseless efforts to improve the health of our patients and communities across Texas and the country, in every care setting and enterprise, by engaging in impactful investigations and training exceptional leaders in research and the pharmacy profession," Pritchard said.

This year's inductees were:

• Aloe Blacc, who has supported the pre-clinical experiments into a "molecular mask" for coronaviruses discovered and developed by UHCOP Professor Gomika Udugamasooriya, Ph.D.;
• Diane B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., M.S. ('90), R.Ph., FASHP, and Jeffrey Josephs, M.D., who recently established a scholarship endowment for students/residents in The Houston Program in Pharmacy Leadership and Administration;
• Fehmida Karachiwala, B.S. ('81), and her late husband, Asif Karachiwala, for the recently created Fehmida and Asif Karachiwala Endowed Scholarship;
• Roy Sandoval, B.S. ('69), and Rosie Sandoval, who have been loyal donors since 1996 to multiple college initiatives, including operating scholarships, teaching infrastructure/technology enhancement and faculty development programs;
• Douglas Thornton, Pharm.D., Ph.D., and Kelly Thornton, Pharm.D., who have established the PREMIER Trains endowment to provide travel awards and relocation assistance for postdoctoral fellows and graduate students in The Prescription Drug Misuse Education and Research (PREMIER) Center; and
• Meghna Trivedi, Pharm.D. ('03), Ph.D. ('04), and Vihang Narkar, Ph.D. ('02), who have supported the college through a variety of campaigns, including the Student Travel Fund and 75th Anniversary Scholarship funds.

In addition to the inductees, the college bestowed "Cougar red coat" honors to June Chin and her late husband of 36 years, Sunny Chin ('71). Among the support the Chins have provided over the years include the establishment of the Den Benny & May Kim Chin Endowed Scholarship and June L. Chin Presidential Endowed Fellowship, as well as gifts to the Health 2 capital campaign for which a study room is dedicated in the Chins' honor. The Chins also established the James Chin Scholarship Endowment in the UH College of Optometry.

The Mading Society was established in 1997 in memory of Cora and Webb Mading, who were the first major donors to the college through a bequest. Membership in the society is bestowed upon individuals and couples who have given $10,000 or more to the college, and corporations and foundations that have given $25,000 or more. In 2014, the presentation of "Cougar red coats" bearing a Mading Society coat-of-arms was introduced to recognize supporters for milestone giving.

A successful Houston-area pharmacist and businessman, Mading purchased his first drug store in 1907 and operated 12 locations by the time of his death in 1953. Advocating that children at his stores be treated with the same respect as adults, Mading also has been memorialized with a Houston Independent School District elementary school bearing his name since it first opened in 1959.