Persona

Schnell, Bruce R.

1937-

Bruce Robert Schnell was born in Maymont, Saskatchewan, in 1937. A 1960 University of Saskatchewan pharmacy graduate, he later earned a MBA degree from the University of Toronto and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin. He joined the faculty of the College of Pharmacy in 1966, became dean in 1976, and vice-president (academic) of the University in 1982. He was responsible for the establishment of the master teacher award program and was intimately involved in the academic reorganization resulting in the creation of the current College of Pharmacy and Nutrition. Named professor emeritus in 1994, he subsequently served as the first executive director of The Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs and developed the first accreditation standards for academic pharmacy in Canada. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists.

Dr. Schnell directed two national research projects that significantly influenced hospital pharmacy standards and practice in Canada and abroad -- the Study of the Unit-Dose System of Drug Distribution in Canada and the Development of a Canadian Hospital Pharmacy Workload Measurement System. He was a member of the Medical Research Council of Canada, associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy and, for 28 years, chaired the editorial advisory panel of the Canadian Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (CPS), the primary source of pharmaceutical product information for health professionals in Canada. He was chair of the Formulary Committee of the Saskatchewan Prescription Drug Plan for 17 years. Last year, he authored Pharmacy: An Art, a Science, a Profession - Reflections on 100 Years of Pharmacy Education in Saskatchewan.

He was president of the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada, the Association of Deans of Pharmacy of Canada, and the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy. He has served on the boards of the Saskatoon United Way, Wanuskewin Heritage Park, St. Paul's Hospital, St. Andrew's College, McClure United Church and McClure Place Association. He is past-president of the Rotary Club of Saskatoon and a member of the Probus Club of Saskatoon Bridges.

Dr. Schnell and his wife, June, reside in Saskatoon. They have two children, both graduates of the University of Saskatchewan, and three grandsons. Thirty-one members of Dr. Schnell’s family have attended the University of Saskatchewan, over the past 100 years, receiving a total of 34 degrees, including two honorary degrees awarded to his parents, Leonard Schnell and Nellie Schnell, by St. Andrew’s College.