Thomas R Temple has been elected as the new chairman of US Pharmacopoeial Convention (USP’s) Board of Trustees. Temple who is former CEO of the Iowa Pharmacy Association will now guide USP’s Mission to Improve Global Health through Quality Standards for Medicines and Foods.

With this new appointment Temple will now succeed earlier Chairman Duane Kirking, who has served the Board since January 2009.

Announcing this new appointment, sources at USP hoped that under Temple’s leadership, the Board will guide the global health organisation as it expands the creation and use of science-based standards that help ensure the quality, purity, and strength of medicines, dietary supplements and food ingredients.

Honoured by his appointment as chair of USP board, Thomas expressed his thanks to his predecessor and said, “The quality of medicines and foods worldwide is the focus of USP and my focus as chair will be working with our management, Convention membership, the Council of Experts and other USP volunteers, along with the Board of Trustees, to continue that vital mission.”

Highlighting the importance of high quality standards for medicines, Roger L Williams, chief executive officer of USP said, “The importance and relevance of our standards for medicines and foods are increasingly critical in today’s global marketplace. Our work developing those standards and raising the quality of products wherever possible will be our continued charge under Mr. Temple as we move forward.”

Temple has served as a Trustee of the Board since 2010, and recently created his own consulting firm after retiring as Executive Vice President and CEO of the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA), a position held since 1980. Currently he also serves as president of Tom Temple Consulting Inc. and as director of strategic communications for the University Of Iowa College Of Pharmacy.

Temple is a member of several professional organizations including the IPA, the American Pharmacists Association, the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), and the American Society of Association Executives. A past president of NASPA, he has also served as a board member for the APhA Foundation, the University of Iowa Alumni Association, and the Alliance for Patient Medication Safety, the Pharmacy Marketing Group, and the Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies.