Roars of applause and animated cheers filled the Stephen C. O’Connell Center as the University of Florida College of Pharmacy class of 2025 was celebrated during a commencement ceremony on May 17. A total of 206 Pharm.D. graduates and 79 master’s graduates were recognized, while nine Ph.D. graduates were honored during the university-wide doctoral commencement ceremony May 1.
Before each student walked onto the stage to symbolize the beginning of their professional journey as a pharmacist, Peter W. Swaan, Ph.D., M.Pharm., UF College of Pharmacy dean and professor, announced the year’s student, faculty and alumni award winners. The D.W. Ramsaur Award, given to high academic achievers who maintained a 4.0 grade point average throughout their four years of pharmacy school, was bestowed upon four graduates: Dean Jacobs, Darla Khouri, Joshua Levin and Anjil Patel. The Perry A. Foote Award, given to one graduate who ranks in the top 10% of their class and who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and service to the college and community, was given to Andre Zibner. This year’s Faculty Recognition Award was bestowed upon Tracy Leonard, R.Ph., BCPP, an instructional assistant professor of pharmacy education and practice.
The 2025 UF College of Pharmacy Outstanding Pharmacy Alumnus Award was given to Matthew Kirchoff, Pharm.D. ’09. Kirchoff, who leads the technical programs branch of the Defense Health Agency’s Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, also delivered a rousing speech to the graduates as this year’s commencement speaker.
“Most of you applied to pharmacy school during the peak of pandemic uncertainty in 2020, when classrooms and toilet paper aisles were completely empty. The world was in the depths of confusion and a public health crisis. You chose this path anyway. You committed to health care careers while case curves and uncertainty were at their peak. You stepped up exactly when society needed pharmacists the most. You are deserving,” Kirchoff told the graduates. “Today, you’re graduating from a place that prepares pharmacists to care for patients better than almost anyone: the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, number four in the nation out of 140 accredited pharmacy colleges.”
After graduates from the Gainesville, Jacksonville and Orlando campuses received their ceremonial hoods to fanfare and applause, 2025 Pharm.D. graduate Abimael Velez took to the podium to share his insights with his colleagues.
“As we step into a world that will test us, where failure will lurk, roads will twist and challenges will dare us to break, carry this: Determination turns dreams into degrees,” said Velez, who was selected by his classmates as the 2025 student commencement speaker. “Failure is a detour — not a dead end. And caring without boundaries? That’s the pulse of everything worth fighting for. We’re not just pharmacists; we’re unstoppable forces, rising stronger with every stumble, armed with compassion and ready to support wellness and lift spirits.”
The ceremony closed with John Gums, Pharm.D., executive associate dean and professor in the UF College of Pharmacy, leading the graduates in a recitation of the American Pharmacists Association’s Oath of a Pharmacist.
May 17, 2025
UF College of Pharmacy 2025 Commencement Ceremony
View a gallery of images from the ceremony held at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville.
