After being injured in a bus accident, pharmacy faculty member Dr. Lucy Ngoh died Dec. 30.
Ngoh was visiting relatives in the West African nation of Cameroon, her native country, when the accident occurred.
“The tragic death of Dr. Ngoh is a great loss to our university. She was deeply involved in her profession, in the life of the university and in the Big Rapids community,” University President David Eisler said. “Her students benefitted from the international perspective she brought to her teaching. Dr. Ngoh had a combination of professional achievements and personal life experiences that are irreplaceable. I join with the entire Ferris community in mourning her loss.”
Along with faculty and staff members, many students are taking the time to remember the life of Ngoh and things she had taught them.
“Dr. Ngoh was a kind and passionate professor that really cared about the students,” Jenna Day, first-year pharmacy student, said. “She challenged us to think about what it meant to be a pharmacist and why each of us chose pharmacy school.”
According to University Advancement and Marketing, Ngoh joined Ferris’ College of Pharmacy in 1992 after completing a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin.
In 1988, she received a master’s degree in health administration from Tulane University in New Orleans and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1985.
While at Ferris, Ngoh was a member of the Academic Senate, served on the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning Advisory Group and was a facilitator for the university’s Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia.
“Although she [Ngoh] took her professor responsibilities very seriously. She always incorporated a sense of humor into the lesson plan,” Rob Granett, second-year pharmacy student, said. “She taught students with a sense of passion and pride for the career of pharmacy. Lucy Ngoh was an invaluable and respected part of the Ferris State College of Pharmacy and will be deeply missed by her students and colleagues as we move forward into this new semester.”
There will be a memorial mass for Ngoh on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m. The mass will be at St. Paul Catholic Chapel located on Damascus Road in Big Rapids. A light reception will follow
the service.