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Episode 26 - Interview with Steve Ellis
In this episode we chat with Steve Ellis, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. After Gatton was founded in 2005, Ellis played a key role in the college’s early development, officially joining in 2008 to lead the Office of Student Affairs. This office supports students throughout their entire journey—from recruitment efforts starting as early as high school, to current student services, and even alumni engagement after graduation. Ellis also serves on the college’s Executive Committee and has held leadership roles at the university level.
Steve recently celebrated his 30th anniversary working at ETSU and was honored with a special scholarship in his name to support students. You can support this scholarship by visiting our Gatton donor page: Under Designation, select "Write In Your Choice," and type in "Steve Ellis Scholarship."
Transcript
Introduction Teaser:
Steve Ellis
There's nothing that brings me greater joy than than watching them grow and be successful and know that they're going to go out in the world and and make such a difference, you know, in people's lives.
Full Episode:
Michele Williams
Welcome to White Coat Radio, a podcast from East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy in Johnson City, Tennessee. Each episode, we cover a wide range of topics about the pharmacy school experience, from study tips to deep dives with faculty and student pharmacists. I'm one of your hosts, Doctor Michele Williams, assistant professor and director of academic success.
Stephen Woodward
And I'm Stephen Woodward, marketing and communications manager. In this episode, we chat with Steve Ellis, assistant dean of student affairs at ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy. Steve recently celebrated his 30th anniversary working at ETSU and he was honored with a special scholarship in his name to support students. You can learn more about that in the show notes for this episode.
Stephen Woodward
Steve has extensive experience serving students, starting his career at Texas A&M University, his alma mater, and Louisiana State University before coming to ETSU Quillen College of Medicine, where he served as assistant dean for student affairs and director of student support services and outreach programs. After Gatton was founded in 2005, Steve played a key role in the college's early development.
Stephen Woodward
Officially joining in 2008 to lead the Office of Student Affairs, this office supports students throughout their entire journey, from recruitment efforts starting as early as high school to current student services and even alumni engagement after graduation. Steve also serves on the college's executive committee and has held leadership roles at the university level. Well, Steve, thank you for coming to White Coat Radio.
Stephen Woodward
It's good to have you.
Steve Ellis
Well you're welcome. Thank you for the invitation.
Stephen Woodward
So you recently celebrated 30 years of service at ETSU. So how many years of those have been at Gatton?
Steve Ellis
Well, I guess it depends exactly how you want to count that. Gatton is celebrating, you know, as many people know, 20 years from its founding in 2005, and I've seen all 20 of those years. However, from an absolutely official capacity, it's 16 that I became the assistant dean for student affairs in 2009.
Steve Ellis
During the years prior to that, I had been at first unofficially involved helping the founding dean, Larry Calhoun, with some things. He, you know, we shared some office space, if you will. So I would help him with some stuff related to student affairs. And then that morphed a little bit into a formal relationship where I was splitting time 50/50, if you will, between the College of Medicine and the College of Pharmacy.
Steve Ellis
And for anybody who thinks that sounds great, 50/50 really is 100/100.
Steve Ellis
Okay.
Steve Ellis
So don’t ever be misled.
Steve Ellis
With that…
Steve Ellis
Idea there. We got about 50% of your time.
Michele Williams
Don't agree to that. Yeah.
Steve Ellis
Absolutely. So, and of course, I've enjoyed all my time here at ETSU, but in particular, I've enjoyed my time here with the College of Pharmacy. Yeah.
Michele Williams
So how did you wind up coming to Gatton full time? Not 50/50. Can you tell us a story about that?
Steve Ellis
Sure, sure. You know, I can tell lots of stories, but I'm actually reminded of this story a little bit in terms of how I came to Gatton. Every week on interview days, we interview applicants for pharmacy school on Mondays, and we show them a brief video of our history so they can have some understanding of how we got founded and that sort of thing.
Steve Ellis
And in the video, of course, the founding dean is speaking. And in his little blurb where he talks about the beginning of the college, he says, “Well, the first thing that Ron Franks asked me on that very first day—besides ‘Larry, I hope you can find an office’—is ‘I hope you can do this. Good luck.’” And it always reminds me of how I came to Gatton because that is how Larry and I met.
Steve Ellis
At the time, I was the acting student affairs dean for the College of Medicine. And the weekend before Larry Calhoun was to start as the founding dean, Ron Franks and I—Ron was the dean of medicine at the time—were coming back from a meeting and were on the same flight. While we were waiting for our connecting flight, he said, “Hey, Steve. Larry’s going to be starting on Monday, and he doesn’t have an office. You think you can help him?” And it just so happened we had an extra office within student affairs in the College of Medicine at the time.
Steve Ellis
So I volunteered that space. And as they say, that was the beginning of a relationship. That’s how I became initially involved with pharmacy, and I continued, as I said a moment ago, in a part-time relationship helping to run admissions in particular at that time because staffing was somewhat limited.
Steve Ellis
And I had a lot of experience with medicine, you know, in the admissions processes. And then when the student affairs dean position opened here in the College of Pharmacy, Larry asked if I would take it on an interim basis. That was in 2008. And then of course that morphed finally in 2009 to be officially the student affairs dean in the College of Pharmacy.
Steve Ellis
So, a little bit of a serendipitous type of initial meeting between he and I that has led to what’s become, I guess, a lifelong kind of love affair—in terms of me and the College of Pharmacy. Yeah.
Stephen Woodward
I feel like now, you know, 20 years—we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary now—and, you know, the college has raked in all these awards, we’re nationally recognized and have a great reputation across the country. But there had to be a lot of fear coming in to a brand new school then. I imagine things were a lot different. Can you kind of talk about that and maybe some of the apprehension you might have felt or challenges that were there in the early times?
Steve Ellis
Yeah, absolutely. As you can imagine, there was a lot of fear. I mean, you’re doing things on faith and hope and all of those sorts of things. And I think in particular about our inaugural class of students, but even the first few years of students, because unless you understand the accreditation process, the program does not become fully accredited until you graduate your first class of students.
Steve Ellis
So there’s a four-year period of time that in theory everybody’s taking a chance—and especially your students. So I oftentimes thought about what type of apprehension the applicants and those who signed on as students were feeling because we actually had them sign a disclaimer at the time they were being accepted that in effect said, “I understand where the college is in terms of accreditation,” and essentially, “we’re going to do everything we’re supposed to do and fully expect to gain accreditation—but at the same time, this could go south, and you can’t really blame us.”
Steve Ellis
Not too long ago I came across some of those signed forms, so it brought back memories. And in a way you can think the same thing with all the faculty and staff, you know, many of whom truly uprooted. For me, my uprooting was to cross the sidewalk, but at the same time you were stepping out on faith.
Steve Ellis
But it was such an exciting endeavor. The people of this region—those familiar with the history of the college’s founding—were just so, so supportive of the college getting started, not only with money but really with whatever it took. Pharmacists came forward to serve as preceptors, and people volunteered in whatever capacity they could.
Steve Ellis
So while you were taking a chance, deep down you knew this was going to work. But when you think about the awards and recognitions, as you mentioned a few moments ago, obviously none of that was in our minds. Our mind was: “Hey, let’s get this college off the ground, make it a quality thing, and produce pharmacists,” because at that time there was a huge shortage nationally and in the region. Basically, we wanted to serve this region and overcome that shortage.
Steve Ellis
Right. And obviously we did a good job with that over the years. But I think, to your question of what's changed over the years—in many ways nothing has changed in terms of that culture. We've always emphasized the importance of culture here in terms of the workplace.
Steve Ellis
You know, that it's a good place to work and a good place for students to learn and have an overall quality experience. But what you were not prepared for—as you grow over the years—is growth. In the early years, we used to comment, “We’re like a rowboat. If you're going in one direction and you realize it isn’t working, you just turn and go in a different direction.” You could do that quickly and meaningfully.
Steve Ellis
Whereas when you grow—bureaucracy hits and structure and processes develop—it becomes not more challenging necessarily, but a very different process to make changes quickly.
Steve Ellis
I liken it to an individual who decides to open a business because they love what they do: baking, painting, whatever it may be. But then all of a sudden it becomes a business, and the dynamics change.
Steve Ellis
But at the same time, that's exciting because of the growth that's going on and watching things change. And along with that came the awards and excitement associated with those kinds of things.
Steve Ellis
One of the biggest memories I’ll always have was the first time our students won the American College of Clinical Pharmacy clinical skills challenge. Streaming was still kind of new at that time. I can vividly see us all huddled around one computer in a cubicle.
Stephen Woodward
I've seen the photo.
Steve Ellis
Yes, yes. And cheering like we were at a baseball game or something. It was really something special. I'll never forget that moment in time for sure.
Michele Williams
Well that's really so interesting. I didn't know all that about the early days of Gatton. And so your position here at the college—you’re the assistant dean for student affairs and you're a member of the executive committee. Can you tell us a little bit about some of the things you're responsible for?
Michele Williams
Keeping in mind that we have a time limit, but it's going to take you a huge amount of time to say all the things. I'm just kidding. But maybe talk a little bit about your job and the day-to-day of your job.
Steve Ellis
Yeah, sure. Be glad to share some of that. Student affairs is a big animal because it affects so much with students. Almost anything associated with students that’s not directly academics can fall in that bucket. And sometimes I feel that way—if the word “student” gets used, oftentimes they're like, “Oh, Steve and his staff, you all handle this.” But it's always a wonderful thing because of the students.
Steve Ellis
A lot of what student affairs does is provide student services and support—just helping them be successful. They have enough to do as students. Going to pharmacy school is their job, and that's a full-time job. So we try to make the other stuff as easy as possible—for example, getting through financial aid processes.
Steve Ellis
We try to provide services so they can get the things they need. Financial aid—we do those things in-house. Registrar’s services—course registration—so they're not thinking, “Oh gosh, I forgot to turn in a form.”
Steve Ellis
We oversee admissions and recruiting processes, and that has changed a lot over the years. In the early years of the college, there was no shortage of applicants because it was the new kid on the block and nationally there were a lot of opportunities. But things change, the field self-corrects, and the need for recruiting has changed a lot.
Steve Ellis
So the admissions staff, student affairs as a whole, and the college collectively spend a lot of time educating people about what pharmacists do as a career.
Steve Ellis
Pharmacy has always been, in my opinion, the invisible profession. Unless you have a need—an interaction with a local pharmacist—many people think of them only as the corner drugstore. They have no idea what pharmacists really do or their role in the health care system.
Steve Ellis
Pharmacists are truly the drug experts. And these are things I've come to learn over the years. I often laugh when watching commercials where they say, “Ask your physician.” And I always think, “No, ask your pharmacist,” because that’s truly the drug expert.
Steve Ellis
So we spend a lot of time helping people understand what pharmacists do and using that platform from a recruiting and admission perspective. And I think it's a nice service we provide to the community, not just to get students but to help people navigate the health care system better.
Steve Ellis
But to get back to the question: In student affairs—and in my job as the leader of that—we focus on trying to make the student experience as fulfilling as it can be, especially outside the classroom, and to support them when they have struggles. Life doesn’t hit the pause button when you're in school.
Steve Ellis
So we try to help ameliorate some of that and really do all we can to help them have a quality experience while they're here.
Michele Williams
I have to agree with you 100%. And I also want to give a little shout-out to your amazing staff. The people that work in student affairs are really, really student-oriented. You create an environment where people really want to help students, and I’m always surprised at all the things student affairs does to support students.
Steve Ellis
Yeah. Well, I appreciate that. And truly, I think it's a real love for the staff. If you look at the student affairs staff, most of us have been here for a good period of time. I mean, I've been 30 years at ETSU, 20 in fact with the College of Pharmacy.
Steve Ellis
But in addition, there's an individual who's been here for 17 years in student affairs, another individual at 17 years. So it's really a nice situation. They are so invested in students’ well-being. And it just makes it nice. And I think our students know that.
Steve Ellis
They know they can count on people in student affairs. And we're talking about student affairs because that’s my area, but it's the college. People know they can count on everybody in the college to be in their corner. It’s easy to be in someone’s corner when times are going good.
Steve Ellis
But I think the students realize that we’re all in their corner—maybe even more so when times are tough—to help them meet challenges and still be successful.
Stephen Woodward
Well, one thing student affairs is known for—maybe famously or infamously—is Halloween celebrations. And I don't know, this will come out probably after Halloween, but tomorrow we're celebrating Halloween here. Can you talk about your favorite Halloween performances you've…
Stephen Woodward
…done in classrooms?
Stephen Woodward
Performed or spent? Yeah. College dance party.
Steve Ellis
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Steve Ellis
You're right. There have been a lot of wild things over the years. All good fun. All good fun, of course.
Steve Ellis
Yeah.
Steve Ellis
I think my favorite one—and I can't specifically remember the year, but somewhere around 2014—was when we did a performance to a song that was one of those one-hit wonders that came out that year. And the song was “What Does the Fox Say?”
Steve Ellis
It was by this Canadian duo—don’t even ask me what their names were. And it was just such a fun thing. We spoofed it up to entertain the students. And of course, as always, I seem to be the guy that either has to make the fun or get made fun of.
Steve Ellis
So I was the senior dancer, if you will, for that event. And it was just a really, really fun time. The class had a ball. I had fun. And let me be sure PETA people are not mad at me—I had a faux fox tail I was wearing.
Steve Ellis
Just, you know… It was just really a fun time. And that whole Halloween celebration that happens every year was one of those things that happened by accident.
Steve Ellis
It was like, “Oh, we should just do something for the students.” So we decided to do a costume contest and trick-or-treating, and the student affairs staff dressed up as the Village People.
Steve Ellis
And someone got the idea: “We should go downstairs and see what’s going on with the class.”
Steve Ellis
And we did. And the next thing you know, students start expecting that every year: “What are you all going to do?” So it's just been a lot of great laughs over the years.
Michele Williams
Yeah, it is a lot of fun. Yeah.
Stephen Woodward
I'm curious how you've seen ETSU change in your time here—at the university as a whole. Gatton started as a private college within a public institution. I think it was the only one in the country at that time. It was a very unique situation.
Steve Ellis
It was definitely unique. And we were—at least in terms of pharmacy—the only one in the country. So that was unheard of. And I think even here, maybe people surprised themselves.
Steve Ellis
Not that it became successful, but just the idea. For your state institution, for so many years people had been going to the state appealing to establish a college of pharmacy. In large part because of the history of the medical school being started in the mid‑70s and the impact that had on the overall quality of life in this region.
Steve Ellis
And I think someone said—tongue in cheek—“Why do we have to have the state's money?” Everyone laughed. But then it was like, “Wait… why do we have to have the state's money?”
Steve Ellis
So that idea took root. That’s the East Tennessee spirit—don’t tell us we can’t do something. Just watch us.
Steve Ellis
It was a big endeavor for the university, though. ETSU was—and still is—a regional school. But maybe even regional in its thinking at that time. “We’re going to be in our designated world and do the things we do.”
Steve Ellis
But over time the university—especially under the leadership of the current president for more than a decade—began to think bigger. Yes, we might be regional in founding and history, but we are a world‑class university in terms of the educational experience. We attract students from all over.
Steve Ellis
That’s something I've seen change—the mindset of people in the region and at the university. And that’s been a good thing. We’ve attracted students from across the country and internationally. We've enrolled international students in the College of Pharmacy.
Steve Ellis
We’ve been able to attract faculty and staff and make a name for ourselves in this little corner of Tennessee—one that has impacted the world. So that’s a big change for me.
Stephen Woodward
Yeah, that’s well said. Flash forward from when it started without state funding—of course, a few years ago we received some state funding for the college. And we've also established the early admission pathway program, which has become a huge part of Gatton. Can you tell our audience what the early admission pathway is and why it's important?
Steve Ellis
Absolutely. And just to comment on the state support—we do receive some state dollars now. We're not fully private as we were. And it's important—it wasn’t about chasing state dollars because we needed money.
Steve Ellis
It was part of our commitment to students—to lower tuition. And we've done that and continue to do that. Pharmacy education, especially in southern/central Appalachia, needs to be accessible. Many students come from rural areas, might be first‑generation students. The idea of becoming a health professional might feel far‑fetched.
Steve Ellis
So we want to do all we can, including with tuition. And under the leadership of our current dean, Dr. Byrd, we’ve been able to do some of that and continue forward.
Steve Ellis
That also helped feed into the EAP program—the Early Admission Pathway. As we've changed recruiting, we're spending time educating students in high school and even middle school about what pharmacists do and what the pathway looks like.
Steve Ellis
Through the EAP program, students are able—as early as high school—to be, air quotes, “admitted” into pharmacy school coming out of high school. It removes the pressure of “I have to make all A’s,” and the feeling that classmates are competitors for a limited number of spots.
Steve Ellis
It removes that pressure because they know they have a spot. They still have to perform academically, but because they're in the pathway, we see them from day one as our students, even while completing undergraduate coursework.
Steve Ellis
And we support them—Dr. Williams assists with academics, we help them grow professionally, and we provide some scholarship money.
Steve Ellis
The program has grown. The first cohort in 2020 was 12 students—only four ultimately started the PharmD program, which is expected due to attrition and young people making life decisions.
Steve Ellis
But our most recent PharmD cohort from the program was 20 students. And the newest incoming EAP cohort of freshmen at ETSU is 50.
Steve Ellis
So it has really grown. Students are seeing what the pathway can offer and what a career in pharmacy can offer. We love working with those students.
Stephen Woodward
Yeah, it’s been great seeing them at the tailgates this football season.
Steve Ellis
Yeah, it has been. And I think they appreciate that because even though they know, “Hey, I’m in pharmacy school as a freshman,” they still have trepidation. But then to come to a tailgate and the dean is there to welcome them, the faculty are there and know who they are—not just “Hi, who are you?” but “Hi Megan, glad to see you today”—that goes a long way.
Steve Ellis
And our current students talk with them and put an arm around them and see them as part of the group. That helps them feel at home and know we are here to support them fully through the journey.
Michele Williams
That's great. Tell us a little bit about the Steve Ellis Scholarship.
Steve Ellis
Well, the Steve Ellis Scholarship was a real surprise to Steve Ellis. A lot of scholarships are started by someone or a family. But this one—which makes it so special—was created by you all, my colleagues here, in appreciation and recognition of my time at ETSU.
Steve Ellis
We’re still working through details, but the scholarship will support students from that overall student‑support perspective. It’s not for the student who makes the best grades but to help students who need support or want to take advantage of certain types of experiences—things aligned with student affairs.
Steve Ellis
They're currently emphasizing collecting donations because we want it endowed—not something that’s spent and gone—but something lasting.
Steve Ellis
I was blown away and surprised when the college presented it to me. I generally try to be even‑keeled, but I was about to cry. I was so moved.
Steve Ellis
I’m excited to see what the scholarship can do to help students grow and develop as pharmacy students.
Stephen Woodward
Yeah. That’s awesome. We'll put a link in the show notes for folks who want to donate and help it reach endowment.
Steve Ellis
Yes, yes. Same type of thing as how the school got started—no amount is too small, and people have a heart for things that directly impact students.
Stephen Woodward
And if people want to see the look on Steve's face at the surprise party when the dean presented it, you can go back on social media and find the photos.
Steve Ellis
Yes, absolutely. I was definitely surprised.
Michele Williams
That's great. Well, I was really looking forward to this because I knew it would be a fun conversation. And you did not disappoint me. Is there anything we haven’t asked that you wish we had?
Steve Ellis
No, I think you asked great questions—some good thought‑provoking ones, and some that brought back great memories. I think perhaps students, faculty, staff, administrators—they don't always know us as people. They see our roles but not us.
Steve Ellis
I try to help students know I'm just a regular guy like they are. We all have struggles. But truly, I’m going to be here for them—whatever it takes to help them be successful. I want to be in their corner.
Steve Ellis
There's nothing that brings me greater joy than watching them grow and be successful and know they're going to go out in the world and make such a difference in people’s lives.
Stephen Woodward
Well said. Okay. Thank you for being on the podcast.
Steve Ellis
Well thank you. I've enjoyed this opportunity, and hopefully somebody out there might appreciate something we talked about today, and who knows—might make a difference in their life.
Stephen Woodward
We'll have you back on in your 60‑year.
Steve Ellis
Okay. Okay.
Steve Ellis
Well, yeah, you know—I need to stay on because at the celebration you do get gifts the longer you’re here.
Steve Ellis
You know, there's that rocking chair that looms out there. But I’ve got to put in a lot more years to get the rocking chair. You get one of those nice… I can say that.
Steve Ellis
All right. Well thank you all. I really appreciate this and enjoyed it.
Michele Williams
It's great, you know.
Stephen Woodward
Thanks for listening to White Coat Radio. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. To learn more about East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, visit us at etsu.com/pharmacy or follow us on social media @ETSUPharmacy. We'll see you next time.
View all episodes
By East Tennessee State UniversityIn this episode we chat with Steve Ellis, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. After Gatton was founded in 2005, Ellis played a key role in the college’s early development, officially joining in 2008 to lead the Office of Student Affairs. This office supports students throughout their entire journey—from recruitment efforts starting as early as high school, to current student services, and even alumni engagement after graduation. Ellis also serves on the college’s Executive Committee and has held leadership roles at the university level.
Steve recently celebrated his 30th anniversary working at ETSU and was honored with a special scholarship in his name to support students. You can support this scholarship by visiting our Gatton donor page: Under Designation, select "Write In Your Choice," and type in "Steve Ellis Scholarship."
Transcript
Introduction Teaser:
Steve Ellis
There's nothing that brings me greater joy than than watching them grow and be successful and know that they're going to go out in the world and and make such a difference, you know, in people's lives.
Full Episode:
Michele Williams
Welcome to White Coat Radio, a podcast from East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy in Johnson City, Tennessee. Each episode, we cover a wide range of topics about the pharmacy school experience, from study tips to deep dives with faculty and student pharmacists. I'm one of your hosts, Doctor Michele Williams, assistant professor and director of academic success.
Stephen Woodward
And I'm Stephen Woodward, marketing and communications manager. In this episode, we chat with Steve Ellis, assistant dean of student affairs at ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy. Steve recently celebrated his 30th anniversary working at ETSU and he was honored with a special scholarship in his name to support students. You can learn more about that in the show notes for this episode.
Stephen Woodward
Steve has extensive experience serving students, starting his career at Texas A&M University, his alma mater, and Louisiana State University before coming to ETSU Quillen College of Medicine, where he served as assistant dean for student affairs and director of student support services and outreach programs. After Gatton was founded in 2005, Steve played a key role in the college's early development.
Stephen Woodward
Officially joining in 2008 to lead the Office of Student Affairs, this office supports students throughout their entire journey, from recruitment efforts starting as early as high school to current student services and even alumni engagement after graduation. Steve also serves on the college's executive committee and has held leadership roles at the university level. Well, Steve, thank you for coming to White Coat Radio.
Stephen Woodward
It's good to have you.
Steve Ellis
Well you're welcome. Thank you for the invitation.
Stephen Woodward
So you recently celebrated 30 years of service at ETSU. So how many years of those have been at Gatton?
Steve Ellis
Well, I guess it depends exactly how you want to count that. Gatton is celebrating, you know, as many people know, 20 years from its founding in 2005, and I've seen all 20 of those years. However, from an absolutely official capacity, it's 16 that I became the assistant dean for student affairs in 2009.
Steve Ellis
During the years prior to that, I had been at first unofficially involved helping the founding dean, Larry Calhoun, with some things. He, you know, we shared some office space, if you will. So I would help him with some stuff related to student affairs. And then that morphed a little bit into a formal relationship where I was splitting time 50/50, if you will, between the College of Medicine and the College of Pharmacy.
Steve Ellis
And for anybody who thinks that sounds great, 50/50 really is 100/100.
Steve Ellis
Okay.
Steve Ellis
So don’t ever be misled.
Steve Ellis
With that…
Steve Ellis
Idea there. We got about 50% of your time.
Michele Williams
Don't agree to that. Yeah.
Steve Ellis
Absolutely. So, and of course, I've enjoyed all my time here at ETSU, but in particular, I've enjoyed my time here with the College of Pharmacy. Yeah.
Michele Williams
So how did you wind up coming to Gatton full time? Not 50/50. Can you tell us a story about that?
Steve Ellis
Sure, sure. You know, I can tell lots of stories, but I'm actually reminded of this story a little bit in terms of how I came to Gatton. Every week on interview days, we interview applicants for pharmacy school on Mondays, and we show them a brief video of our history so they can have some understanding of how we got founded and that sort of thing.
Steve Ellis
And in the video, of course, the founding dean is speaking. And in his little blurb where he talks about the beginning of the college, he says, “Well, the first thing that Ron Franks asked me on that very first day—besides ‘Larry, I hope you can find an office’—is ‘I hope you can do this. Good luck.’” And it always reminds me of how I came to Gatton because that is how Larry and I met.
Steve Ellis
At the time, I was the acting student affairs dean for the College of Medicine. And the weekend before Larry Calhoun was to start as the founding dean, Ron Franks and I—Ron was the dean of medicine at the time—were coming back from a meeting and were on the same flight. While we were waiting for our connecting flight, he said, “Hey, Steve. Larry’s going to be starting on Monday, and he doesn’t have an office. You think you can help him?” And it just so happened we had an extra office within student affairs in the College of Medicine at the time.
Steve Ellis
So I volunteered that space. And as they say, that was the beginning of a relationship. That’s how I became initially involved with pharmacy, and I continued, as I said a moment ago, in a part-time relationship helping to run admissions in particular at that time because staffing was somewhat limited.
Steve Ellis
And I had a lot of experience with medicine, you know, in the admissions processes. And then when the student affairs dean position opened here in the College of Pharmacy, Larry asked if I would take it on an interim basis. That was in 2008. And then of course that morphed finally in 2009 to be officially the student affairs dean in the College of Pharmacy.
Steve Ellis
So, a little bit of a serendipitous type of initial meeting between he and I that has led to what’s become, I guess, a lifelong kind of love affair—in terms of me and the College of Pharmacy. Yeah.
Stephen Woodward
I feel like now, you know, 20 years—we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary now—and, you know, the college has raked in all these awards, we’re nationally recognized and have a great reputation across the country. But there had to be a lot of fear coming in to a brand new school then. I imagine things were a lot different. Can you kind of talk about that and maybe some of the apprehension you might have felt or challenges that were there in the early times?
Steve Ellis
Yeah, absolutely. As you can imagine, there was a lot of fear. I mean, you’re doing things on faith and hope and all of those sorts of things. And I think in particular about our inaugural class of students, but even the first few years of students, because unless you understand the accreditation process, the program does not become fully accredited until you graduate your first class of students.
Steve Ellis
So there’s a four-year period of time that in theory everybody’s taking a chance—and especially your students. So I oftentimes thought about what type of apprehension the applicants and those who signed on as students were feeling because we actually had them sign a disclaimer at the time they were being accepted that in effect said, “I understand where the college is in terms of accreditation,” and essentially, “we’re going to do everything we’re supposed to do and fully expect to gain accreditation—but at the same time, this could go south, and you can’t really blame us.”
Steve Ellis
Not too long ago I came across some of those signed forms, so it brought back memories. And in a way you can think the same thing with all the faculty and staff, you know, many of whom truly uprooted. For me, my uprooting was to cross the sidewalk, but at the same time you were stepping out on faith.
Steve Ellis
But it was such an exciting endeavor. The people of this region—those familiar with the history of the college’s founding—were just so, so supportive of the college getting started, not only with money but really with whatever it took. Pharmacists came forward to serve as preceptors, and people volunteered in whatever capacity they could.
Steve Ellis
So while you were taking a chance, deep down you knew this was going to work. But when you think about the awards and recognitions, as you mentioned a few moments ago, obviously none of that was in our minds. Our mind was: “Hey, let’s get this college off the ground, make it a quality thing, and produce pharmacists,” because at that time there was a huge shortage nationally and in the region. Basically, we wanted to serve this region and overcome that shortage.
Steve Ellis
Right. And obviously we did a good job with that over the years. But I think, to your question of what's changed over the years—in many ways nothing has changed in terms of that culture. We've always emphasized the importance of culture here in terms of the workplace.
Steve Ellis
You know, that it's a good place to work and a good place for students to learn and have an overall quality experience. But what you were not prepared for—as you grow over the years—is growth. In the early years, we used to comment, “We’re like a rowboat. If you're going in one direction and you realize it isn’t working, you just turn and go in a different direction.” You could do that quickly and meaningfully.
Steve Ellis
Whereas when you grow—bureaucracy hits and structure and processes develop—it becomes not more challenging necessarily, but a very different process to make changes quickly.
Steve Ellis
I liken it to an individual who decides to open a business because they love what they do: baking, painting, whatever it may be. But then all of a sudden it becomes a business, and the dynamics change.
Steve Ellis
But at the same time, that's exciting because of the growth that's going on and watching things change. And along with that came the awards and excitement associated with those kinds of things.
Steve Ellis
One of the biggest memories I’ll always have was the first time our students won the American College of Clinical Pharmacy clinical skills challenge. Streaming was still kind of new at that time. I can vividly see us all huddled around one computer in a cubicle.
Stephen Woodward
I've seen the photo.
Steve Ellis
Yes, yes. And cheering like we were at a baseball game or something. It was really something special. I'll never forget that moment in time for sure.
Michele Williams
Well that's really so interesting. I didn't know all that about the early days of Gatton. And so your position here at the college—you’re the assistant dean for student affairs and you're a member of the executive committee. Can you tell us a little bit about some of the things you're responsible for?
Michele Williams
Keeping in mind that we have a time limit, but it's going to take you a huge amount of time to say all the things. I'm just kidding. But maybe talk a little bit about your job and the day-to-day of your job.
Steve Ellis
Yeah, sure. Be glad to share some of that. Student affairs is a big animal because it affects so much with students. Almost anything associated with students that’s not directly academics can fall in that bucket. And sometimes I feel that way—if the word “student” gets used, oftentimes they're like, “Oh, Steve and his staff, you all handle this.” But it's always a wonderful thing because of the students.
Steve Ellis
A lot of what student affairs does is provide student services and support—just helping them be successful. They have enough to do as students. Going to pharmacy school is their job, and that's a full-time job. So we try to make the other stuff as easy as possible—for example, getting through financial aid processes.
Steve Ellis
We try to provide services so they can get the things they need. Financial aid—we do those things in-house. Registrar’s services—course registration—so they're not thinking, “Oh gosh, I forgot to turn in a form.”
Steve Ellis
We oversee admissions and recruiting processes, and that has changed a lot over the years. In the early years of the college, there was no shortage of applicants because it was the new kid on the block and nationally there were a lot of opportunities. But things change, the field self-corrects, and the need for recruiting has changed a lot.
Steve Ellis
So the admissions staff, student affairs as a whole, and the college collectively spend a lot of time educating people about what pharmacists do as a career.
Steve Ellis
Pharmacy has always been, in my opinion, the invisible profession. Unless you have a need—an interaction with a local pharmacist—many people think of them only as the corner drugstore. They have no idea what pharmacists really do or their role in the health care system.
Steve Ellis
Pharmacists are truly the drug experts. And these are things I've come to learn over the years. I often laugh when watching commercials where they say, “Ask your physician.” And I always think, “No, ask your pharmacist,” because that’s truly the drug expert.
Steve Ellis
So we spend a lot of time helping people understand what pharmacists do and using that platform from a recruiting and admission perspective. And I think it's a nice service we provide to the community, not just to get students but to help people navigate the health care system better.
Steve Ellis
But to get back to the question: In student affairs—and in my job as the leader of that—we focus on trying to make the student experience as fulfilling as it can be, especially outside the classroom, and to support them when they have struggles. Life doesn’t hit the pause button when you're in school.
Steve Ellis
So we try to help ameliorate some of that and really do all we can to help them have a quality experience while they're here.
Michele Williams
I have to agree with you 100%. And I also want to give a little shout-out to your amazing staff. The people that work in student affairs are really, really student-oriented. You create an environment where people really want to help students, and I’m always surprised at all the things student affairs does to support students.
Steve Ellis
Yeah. Well, I appreciate that. And truly, I think it's a real love for the staff. If you look at the student affairs staff, most of us have been here for a good period of time. I mean, I've been 30 years at ETSU, 20 in fact with the College of Pharmacy.
Steve Ellis
But in addition, there's an individual who's been here for 17 years in student affairs, another individual at 17 years. So it's really a nice situation. They are so invested in students’ well-being. And it just makes it nice. And I think our students know that.
Steve Ellis
They know they can count on people in student affairs. And we're talking about student affairs because that’s my area, but it's the college. People know they can count on everybody in the college to be in their corner. It’s easy to be in someone’s corner when times are going good.
Steve Ellis
But I think the students realize that we’re all in their corner—maybe even more so when times are tough—to help them meet challenges and still be successful.
Stephen Woodward
Well, one thing student affairs is known for—maybe famously or infamously—is Halloween celebrations. And I don't know, this will come out probably after Halloween, but tomorrow we're celebrating Halloween here. Can you talk about your favorite Halloween performances you've…
Stephen Woodward
…done in classrooms?
Stephen Woodward
Performed or spent? Yeah. College dance party.
Steve Ellis
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Steve Ellis
You're right. There have been a lot of wild things over the years. All good fun. All good fun, of course.
Steve Ellis
Yeah.
Steve Ellis
I think my favorite one—and I can't specifically remember the year, but somewhere around 2014—was when we did a performance to a song that was one of those one-hit wonders that came out that year. And the song was “What Does the Fox Say?”
Steve Ellis
It was by this Canadian duo—don’t even ask me what their names were. And it was just such a fun thing. We spoofed it up to entertain the students. And of course, as always, I seem to be the guy that either has to make the fun or get made fun of.
Steve Ellis
So I was the senior dancer, if you will, for that event. And it was just a really, really fun time. The class had a ball. I had fun. And let me be sure PETA people are not mad at me—I had a faux fox tail I was wearing.
Steve Ellis
Just, you know… It was just really a fun time. And that whole Halloween celebration that happens every year was one of those things that happened by accident.
Steve Ellis
It was like, “Oh, we should just do something for the students.” So we decided to do a costume contest and trick-or-treating, and the student affairs staff dressed up as the Village People.
Steve Ellis
And someone got the idea: “We should go downstairs and see what’s going on with the class.”
Steve Ellis
And we did. And the next thing you know, students start expecting that every year: “What are you all going to do?” So it's just been a lot of great laughs over the years.
Michele Williams
Yeah, it is a lot of fun. Yeah.
Stephen Woodward
I'm curious how you've seen ETSU change in your time here—at the university as a whole. Gatton started as a private college within a public institution. I think it was the only one in the country at that time. It was a very unique situation.
Steve Ellis
It was definitely unique. And we were—at least in terms of pharmacy—the only one in the country. So that was unheard of. And I think even here, maybe people surprised themselves.
Steve Ellis
Not that it became successful, but just the idea. For your state institution, for so many years people had been going to the state appealing to establish a college of pharmacy. In large part because of the history of the medical school being started in the mid‑70s and the impact that had on the overall quality of life in this region.
Steve Ellis
And I think someone said—tongue in cheek—“Why do we have to have the state's money?” Everyone laughed. But then it was like, “Wait… why do we have to have the state's money?”
Steve Ellis
So that idea took root. That’s the East Tennessee spirit—don’t tell us we can’t do something. Just watch us.
Steve Ellis
It was a big endeavor for the university, though. ETSU was—and still is—a regional school. But maybe even regional in its thinking at that time. “We’re going to be in our designated world and do the things we do.”
Steve Ellis
But over time the university—especially under the leadership of the current president for more than a decade—began to think bigger. Yes, we might be regional in founding and history, but we are a world‑class university in terms of the educational experience. We attract students from all over.
Steve Ellis
That’s something I've seen change—the mindset of people in the region and at the university. And that’s been a good thing. We’ve attracted students from across the country and internationally. We've enrolled international students in the College of Pharmacy.
Steve Ellis
We’ve been able to attract faculty and staff and make a name for ourselves in this little corner of Tennessee—one that has impacted the world. So that’s a big change for me.
Stephen Woodward
Yeah, that’s well said. Flash forward from when it started without state funding—of course, a few years ago we received some state funding for the college. And we've also established the early admission pathway program, which has become a huge part of Gatton. Can you tell our audience what the early admission pathway is and why it's important?
Steve Ellis
Absolutely. And just to comment on the state support—we do receive some state dollars now. We're not fully private as we were. And it's important—it wasn’t about chasing state dollars because we needed money.
Steve Ellis
It was part of our commitment to students—to lower tuition. And we've done that and continue to do that. Pharmacy education, especially in southern/central Appalachia, needs to be accessible. Many students come from rural areas, might be first‑generation students. The idea of becoming a health professional might feel far‑fetched.
Steve Ellis
So we want to do all we can, including with tuition. And under the leadership of our current dean, Dr. Byrd, we’ve been able to do some of that and continue forward.
Steve Ellis
That also helped feed into the EAP program—the Early Admission Pathway. As we've changed recruiting, we're spending time educating students in high school and even middle school about what pharmacists do and what the pathway looks like.
Steve Ellis
Through the EAP program, students are able—as early as high school—to be, air quotes, “admitted” into pharmacy school coming out of high school. It removes the pressure of “I have to make all A’s,” and the feeling that classmates are competitors for a limited number of spots.
Steve Ellis
It removes that pressure because they know they have a spot. They still have to perform academically, but because they're in the pathway, we see them from day one as our students, even while completing undergraduate coursework.
Steve Ellis
And we support them—Dr. Williams assists with academics, we help them grow professionally, and we provide some scholarship money.
Steve Ellis
The program has grown. The first cohort in 2020 was 12 students—only four ultimately started the PharmD program, which is expected due to attrition and young people making life decisions.
Steve Ellis
But our most recent PharmD cohort from the program was 20 students. And the newest incoming EAP cohort of freshmen at ETSU is 50.
Steve Ellis
So it has really grown. Students are seeing what the pathway can offer and what a career in pharmacy can offer. We love working with those students.
Stephen Woodward
Yeah, it’s been great seeing them at the tailgates this football season.
Steve Ellis
Yeah, it has been. And I think they appreciate that because even though they know, “Hey, I’m in pharmacy school as a freshman,” they still have trepidation. But then to come to a tailgate and the dean is there to welcome them, the faculty are there and know who they are—not just “Hi, who are you?” but “Hi Megan, glad to see you today”—that goes a long way.
Steve Ellis
And our current students talk with them and put an arm around them and see them as part of the group. That helps them feel at home and know we are here to support them fully through the journey.
Michele Williams
That's great. Tell us a little bit about the Steve Ellis Scholarship.
Steve Ellis
Well, the Steve Ellis Scholarship was a real surprise to Steve Ellis. A lot of scholarships are started by someone or a family. But this one—which makes it so special—was created by you all, my colleagues here, in appreciation and recognition of my time at ETSU.
Steve Ellis
We’re still working through details, but the scholarship will support students from that overall student‑support perspective. It’s not for the student who makes the best grades but to help students who need support or want to take advantage of certain types of experiences—things aligned with student affairs.
Steve Ellis
They're currently emphasizing collecting donations because we want it endowed—not something that’s spent and gone—but something lasting.
Steve Ellis
I was blown away and surprised when the college presented it to me. I generally try to be even‑keeled, but I was about to cry. I was so moved.
Steve Ellis
I’m excited to see what the scholarship can do to help students grow and develop as pharmacy students.
Stephen Woodward
Yeah. That’s awesome. We'll put a link in the show notes for folks who want to donate and help it reach endowment.
Steve Ellis
Yes, yes. Same type of thing as how the school got started—no amount is too small, and people have a heart for things that directly impact students.
Stephen Woodward
And if people want to see the look on Steve's face at the surprise party when the dean presented it, you can go back on social media and find the photos.
Steve Ellis
Yes, absolutely. I was definitely surprised.
Michele Williams
That's great. Well, I was really looking forward to this because I knew it would be a fun conversation. And you did not disappoint me. Is there anything we haven’t asked that you wish we had?
Steve Ellis
No, I think you asked great questions—some good thought‑provoking ones, and some that brought back great memories. I think perhaps students, faculty, staff, administrators—they don't always know us as people. They see our roles but not us.
Steve Ellis
I try to help students know I'm just a regular guy like they are. We all have struggles. But truly, I’m going to be here for them—whatever it takes to help them be successful. I want to be in their corner.
Steve Ellis
There's nothing that brings me greater joy than watching them grow and be successful and know they're going to go out in the world and make such a difference in people’s lives.
Stephen Woodward
Well said. Okay. Thank you for being on the podcast.
Steve Ellis
Well thank you. I've enjoyed this opportunity, and hopefully somebody out there might appreciate something we talked about today, and who knows—might make a difference in their life.
Stephen Woodward
We'll have you back on in your 60‑year.
Steve Ellis
Okay. Okay.
Steve Ellis
Well, yeah, you know—I need to stay on because at the celebration you do get gifts the longer you’re here.
Steve Ellis
You know, there's that rocking chair that looms out there. But I’ve got to put in a lot more years to get the rocking chair. You get one of those nice… I can say that.
Steve Ellis
All right. Well thank you all. I really appreciate this and enjoyed it.
Michele Williams
It's great, you know.
Stephen Woodward
Thanks for listening to White Coat Radio. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. To learn more about East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, visit us at etsu.com/pharmacy or follow us on social media @ETSUPharmacy. We'll see you next time.