John Lane (Centre) with the Head of School, Professor Clive Roberts (left) and Steve Vesse from the Campaign and Alumni Relations Office (right)
Mr John Lane visited the School of Pharmacy on 5 March 2014.
John graduated from the MPharm programme in 1963. At that time just 50 students completed the three-year MPharm programme each year and the vast majority of students were male. He was interested to note that the gender balance has since shifted, with the School current intake to our four and five-year MPharm programmes being around 60% female 40% male. When John studied there were also very few international students and he was keen to understand how our overseas students, including around 90 from our 2+2 programme in Malaysia, are supported in adapting to living and studying in England.
John initially worked in marketing before completing his pre-registration year and registering as a pharmacist. Having a mind for management as well as pharmacy, he bought the first pharmacy that he worked in and went on to establish the Cox and Robinson chain of pharmacies in Buckinghamshire. He remained as Managing Director until 2006 when the company was sold to W R Evans (Chemist) Limited, and was the non-executive Deputy Chairman there until he retired in 2012.
John's experiences at Nottingham stayed with him and led him to establish a scholarship scheme for MPharm students. During his visit John met with staff to discuss recent developments in the teaching of pharmacy, including our new five-year integrated MPharm degree, and also observed prospective students being interviewed using our new mini-multi-interview system. The highlight of the day though was the opportunity to meet with some of the recipients of his scholarships, hear about their time at Nottingham and share with them his experiences of being a student in Cripps Hall and his career in pharmacy.
Posted on Friday 7th March 2014