After Nearly 60 Years of Involvement around the College, Dr. Veltri Becomes Latest Weaver Award Recipient
The University of Utah College of Pharmacy is excited to share that Dr. Joseph Veltri, BPharm 1971, PharmD 1977, was selected as the 2025 Weaver Award winner, in recognition of his long-time service and dedication to the College of Pharmacy.
About the Weaver Award
The Lawrence C. and Dolores M. Weaver Award was established in 1997 to recognize individuals who have made substantial contributions to the College of Pharmacy by:
- Advancing the College’s research, education, or clinical mission for the ultimate benefit of human health.
- Creating a program of excellence in the College.
- Making a substantial impact on the pharmacy profession.
- Making substantial contributions of personal resources to the College of Pharmacy.
“Joe embodies the highest ideals of Lawrence and Dolores Weaver and has made substantial contributions to the college over the last 50 years – including 31 years of service as a faculty member and leader of the Poison Control Center. And if that isn’t enough, he and his wife, Liz, also support the college through their scholarship endowment for PharmD students. We are very proud to honor Joe’s dedication to our mission through the Weaver Award.”
- Randall T. Peterson, Dean
About Joseph Veltri
Joe began pharmacy school at the University of Utah in 1966 with the goal of practicing pharmacy with his uncle, who owned and operated a traditional pharmacy in Helper, Utah. He married his wife, Liz, in 1969, and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 1971.
After working in Helper for a few months, Dean Ewart Swinyard called Joe and shared his vision for establishing a clinical PharmD program at the college, inviting him and five other grads to come back to Salt Lake City to help launch it during the next year. Joe accepted the offer and moved his family back to Salt Lake City in the Fall of 1971.
During the 1971-72 academic year, faculty from the College of Pharmacy and the School of Medicine (Hillman Castle, Tony Temple, David George) partnered to write a grant to the federal government, requesting funds to establish a formal poison control center at the University of Utah. The hospital had been managing a small poison control program since 1954, but it wasn’t formally staffed.
“I remember back then, the poison control program was housed in a tiny lab just off the emergency room in the old hospital. The center had a phone and some books, and if someone called, a nurse would answer and hand it off to one of the docs in the emergency room, who would do his best to answer using the materials on hand.”
- Joseph Veltri
Joe had the opportunity to rotate through the original poison control program during his first year back at the college.
“I really enjoyed the interaction with people who needed help at that time. It was mostly physicians who would call in and we would do our best to help them with the limited resources available. I thought, wow, this is really exciting! I was applying everything I learned in pharmacy school and using it to help people. It was a real ‘aha’ moment for me.”
- Joseph Veltri
Joe was offered a position as faculty and the first Managing Director of the Poison Control Center by David George and Tony Temple. In addition to his management duties, Joe also developed and taught a course in clinical toxicology at the college.
The Utah Department of Health started to see the value in the Poison Control Center and started to fund staff positions at the College in 1973, so the program didn’t have to rely fully on student workers.
“This was a long time ago – 50 years ago. Back then, we would run the center from 8 AM – Midnight with students and then it would be managed by the Emergency Department overnight.”
- Joseph Veltri
In 1973, things really started to take off. The program hit a significant milestone in 1974-75, when they had enough staff to run the program 24 hours a day, and they no longer had to pass night shifts off to the hospital staff.
"At that point in time, we started to develop a data collection system, so we could track information long-term. We then launched a regional marketing campaign and became a consumer-oriented service and the number of calls increased significantly, which showed the tremendous need for the service in the community.”
- Joseph Veltri
Joe continued to teach the toxicology course and manage the Poison Control Center (PCC) Clerkship, which became mandatory for all pharmacy students. Not one to relax, Joe decided to start working toward his PharmD in 1974, which was a tremendous challenge on top of being a new father and managing his workload at the Center. He graduated in 1977 at the age of 29.
Joe was promoted to be the Director of the program in 1980 when Tony Temple left the college and took over the responsibility of securing funding for the program. Joe remembers that state funding had been declining over the years and they had to apply for federal grants.
“It was a real struggle – each year we were funded was a victory.”
- Joseph Veltri
Joe continued to advocate for the program and the State of Utah increased their funding to ensure the program remained open. Joe gave lectures and took on extra projects to bring in additional funding.
“Every extra dollar I earned went to the program’s development account so we could keep the work going.”
- Joseph Veltri
Joe served as the Director of the Poison Control Center until 1992, when Barbara Insley-Crouch took over the program as Director, which allowed Joe to focus more on his growing interest in consumer product research, ultimately leading to forming a spin-off company, PEGUS Research, in 1997. Joe retired from the College in 2002 and spent the next 15 years working around the nation and world with GlaxoSmithKline as the Director of Medical Affairs in the consumer products division.
The College of Pharmacy recognizes that without Joe’s tireless efforts from 1971 – 2002, the Poison Control Center would not be the integral community health program it is today.
“Joe is a legend here at the college and Utah is stronger and healthier because of his service.”
- Randall T. Peterson, Dean
Joe reflects on his 31 year career at the college,
“I’d like to recognize the incredible support I received from my colleagues, Doug Rollins and Marion Lennberg, who were an incredible help. Without them, I don’t think the Poison Control Center would have survived.”
- Joseph Veltri
Although Joe retired from the college in 2002, his support never wavered. He continued to attend events, support fundraising campaigns, and even established the Joseph and Elizabeth Veltri Family Endowed Scholarship for PharmD students. Joe also recently joined the College of Pharmacy Alumni Board.
“2026 will mark 60 years since I first walked through the College of Pharmacy doors as an 18 year old. When you’re that age, you don’t think about the rest of your life – you just follow a path and see which doors open. This is essentially what my life has been – following a path and saying ‘yes’ to opportunities that bring joy. I am so proud of what we were able to accomplish and how the College and the Poison Control Center have grown tremendously. The college in particular has become extremely important in the world of pharmaceutical education. I am proud to have been a small part of the history.”
- Joseph Veltri
When called by Dean Peterson with news about being awarded with the 2025 Weaver Award, Joe was “completely shocked and honored” to be chosen. The college plans to host a recognition event in honor of Joe’s service and dedication to the college during the 2026 Spring semester.
Joe and Liz have two children, Nicole Veltri and Charles Veltri, who both followed in their father’s footsteps and became educators. Nicole is a high school teacher in the Salt Lake valley and Charles Veltri earned his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Utah College of Pharmacy in 2009 and now teaches at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy in Phoenix.
“My family had to sacrifice a lot in order for the Poison Control Center to be successful. This honor belongs to them just as much as it does to me.”
- Joseph Veltri
