The Catalyst, July 17, 2015 3
MUSC fundraiser earns top award from her peers By Allyson Crowell Office of Development MUSC’s Associate Executive Director of Development Toni Jernigan learned a lesson when she was 5 years old that has guided her professional life. Each Sunday after church, Jernigan’s mother took her and her siblings to visit their grandparents, and their grandmother gave them all hot cocoa. One Sunday, instead of cocoa, she gave each child a nickel — much to the children’s disappointment. On the way home, Jernigan’s mother told them that giving is about the giver and not the recipient. “She explained that the Grandma wanted to show her love by giving us something, and that she had very little to give on that day,” Jernigan said. “She explained how much joy we gave her when we graciously accepted her gift.” Jernigan recently was named local Outstanding Professional Fundraiser of the year. She received the award on June 15 from the Association of Fundraising Professionals South Carolina Lowcountry Chapter during its annual Summer Institute luncheon. Jernigan joined MUSC in 2007 as director of gift planning, a role that oversees donations made through estates and other legacy gifts. Jim Fisher, MUSC vice president of development and alumni affairs, said
Jernigan always makes the donor — or the giver — her top priority. He noted that even when Jernigan called someone who was reluctant to speak to her, she never hung up without an appointment. “I don’t have to tell you that donors recognize when you believe in what you’re representing,” Fisher said. “They know when you’re genuine. Toni Jernigan is one of a kind, and she is genuine.” Among her accomplishments, Jernigan helped to close a $300 million capital campaign a full year ahead of schedule and with an extra $57 million. She also rebranded MUSC’s gift planning office in such a way that increased planned gifts from $6 million annually to more than $23 million annually. “Toni will always stay late, make the drive, plan the meeting — whatever it takes to advance our mission,” Fisher said at the reception. “She brings a sense of ownership and pride to the growth and continued success of the Medical University, and that’s something people notice.” Jernigan spent her early career working with challenged students. She began her fundraising career in 1998 with the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis as regional major gift officer and planned giving representative. Jernigan thanked her peers after receiving the award,
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Toni Jernigan, associate executive director of development at MUSC, was named Outstanding Professional Fundraiser of the Year by the AFPSC Lowcountry Chapter. saying, “It has been you who have motivated me to be the best I can be.” She also thanked her late mother, the first person to teach her the joy of giving.
Pharmacy leader praised for clinical research, education Staff Report South Carolina College of Pharmacy’s Kelly Ragucci has been named the winner of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) 2015 Education Award, to be presented as part of the opening general session at ACCP’s 2015 Global Conference on Clinical Pharmacy in San Francisco on Oct. 18. Ragucci, professor and chair of the Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences Department (CPOS) at the SCCP, was cited for her “sustained work and leadership in clinical pharmacy education,” which ACCP Executive Director Michael Maddox called “truly commendable,” adding that she “has set a high standard for other educators nationally to emulate.” ACCP’s Education Award recognizes a member who has shown excellence in the classroom or clinical training site;
“Dr. Ragucci is illustrative of the college’s commitment to education and we’re delighted she’s being recognized for her outstanding work.” Philip Hall, PharmD conducted innovative research in clinical pharmacy education; demonstrated exceptional dedication to continuous professional development; or shown leadership in the development of clinical pharmacy education programs. “Dr. Ragucci is illustrative of the college’s commitment to education, and we’re delighted she is being recognized for her outstanding work,” said Philip
Dr. Kelly Ragucci will receive the 2015 ACCP Education Award at the organization’s October conference. Hall, campus dean at MUSC. “She is an exemplary faculty member.” Often selected as a professor of the year by students in the pharmacy college, Ragucci has also been honored with universitywide accolades such as being named the 2012 winner of the MUSC Teaching Excellence Award in the Educator-Lecturer category and the
2011 MUSC Outstanding Clinician Award. She was a finalist for the 2013 Governor’s Professor of the Year Award and has won numerous other awards. Ragucci earned her bachelor’s in pharmacy with high honors from Ohio Northern University and her PharmD from the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy. She did a primary care specialty residency in family medicine at MUSC in 1997 and 1998 and has earned certifications in basic life support, physical assessment, Board of Pharmacotherapy Specialists, diabetes education and advanced cardiovascular life support. After serving as assistant professor at Wilkes University, she joined MUSC in 2000 and was promoted to associate professor in 2004. She became a full professor in 2011 and served as assistant dean for the curriculum on the MUSC campus before becoming CPOS chair in 2013. She has served as chair of the ACCP Clinical Practice Affairs Committee and has held several national positions, including chair of the Ambulatory Care Practice and Research Network and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee.