Honoree-
Shirley Kraus

During an era when few women pursued careers in science, Dr. Shirley Kraus became a pioneer in pharmacy education, blazing new trails in research and leadership.

Born and raised in New York City, she earned her B.A from Hunter College, her M.A. from Cornell and her Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1957, after holding positions at New York University College of Dentistry and Howard University Medical School, she accepted a position at Long Island University’s Brooklyn College of Pharmacy (now the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences).

She served on the College’s faculty for more than 25 years until her retirement in 1982, teaching physiology and pharmacology to thousands of students. She inspired many of her best students, affectionately known as “Shirley’s Boys,” to go on to graduate and medical schools and become outstanding researchers, clinicians and scientists.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Dr. Kraus is a distinguished researcher who has written dozens of articles and has been the recipient of research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation among others. Her accomplishments have gained her recognition in Who’s Who in: American Education; the World of Women; American Women; the East; and American Jewry. She is also featured in American Men & Women of Science; Dictionary of International Biography; Jews in the World of Science; and Israeli Honorarium.

In 1978, she received the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty award. In addition, she received an honorary doctorate from the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences of Long Island University in 1996, the same year that “Shirley’s Boys” established an endowed fund in her name to support undergraduate research.

Dr. Kraus and her husband, Jerome, have a daughter, a son and seven grandchildren.

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