South Dakota State University faculty member Tom Johnson has been elected to the Board of Directors of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists.

Johnson, professor of pharmacy practice in the College of Pharmacy at SDSU, will begin his three-year term on the 12-member board June, 2011.

“It was an honor to be nominated, and I’m very humbled and excited to actually be elected,” Johnson said, whose practice site is in Sioux Falls as a critical care pharmacist and critical care pharmacy residency program director at Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., ASHP is a 35,000-member national professional association that represents pharmacists who practice in hospitals, health maintenance organizations, long-term care facilities, home care and other components of health-care systems.

ASHP is the only national organization of hospital and health-system pharmacists. Its mission is to advance and support the professional practice of pharmacists and serve as their collective voice on issues related to medication use, public health and patient safety.

“This is a great honor and Dr. Johnson will represent us well,” said Professor James Clem, head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice. “This is a milestone for the pharmacy practitioners in South Dakota. He is definitely a leader in the pharmacy profession, and we are very proud of all his accomplishments.”

Johnson, who joined the SDSU pharmacy staff as an assistant professor in 1998, is past president of the South Dakota Health System Pharmacists. Having previously served on two ASHP councils, he is cognizant of what it means to be elected to the national board of directors.

“With as many rural institutions that we have in South Dakota and the region as well as many of the things that we are doing at SDSU and at Avera, I think having a board member from this state will be particularly helpful, “he said. “It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved.”