Michael Zemaitis, whose 50-year career was dedicated to the School of Pharmacy, died March 28, 2026 at 79.
“The goal of education is to produce life-long-learners, and Professor Zemaitis typified that goal at the highest level, both as a learner and as a leader,” said Randy P. Juhl, Pharmacy’s dean emeritus and distinguished service professor emeritus, in a remembrance. “He taught such a broad range of courses over that past nearly 50 years; his research and service activities likewise were in a state of constant reformation. And, importantly, he operated at the high standards he set for himself.”
Juhl noted that Zemaitis “maintained a shatterproof loyalty to the School of Pharmacy and the University, despite seismic challenges” — particularly the planned move, in 1984, to close the school, which was reversed after several years.
“Through it all, Mike’s commitments to students and colleagues never wavered, although he wasn’t shy about denouncing” the effects of this plan, Juhl said. “He went on to develop new courses and teaching methods across the Health Sciences. He also served with distinction in important leadership roles in the School of Pharmacy and also in the commonwealth’s efforts to minimize the tragedies of drug abuse. He was a talented and beloved colleague.”
Kellie Mitchell, Pharmacy’s executive director of strategic initiatives and another long-time colleague of Zemaitis, recalled that Zemaitis “was a deeply respected member of the Pitt Pharmacy community whose impact spanned education, research and service.”
His research, she noted, “focused on the genetic and environmental factors influencing hepatic drug metabolism, with significant contributions to analytical methodologies, including the development of assays for drugs, metabolites and endogenous compounds. He established a mass spectrometry laboratory within the school, advancing drug analysis and the study of medicinal plant constituents.
“On a personal level, Mike was passionate about teaching and deeply committed to his students. His sharp wit and warm sense of humor left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of working with him.”
Patricia Kroboth (also a dean emeritus and distinguished service professor emeritus), on whose master’s and doctoral degree committees Zemaitis served, remembered him as very influential among fellow faculty in the early adoption of technological advances.
“He wasn't a Pollyanna, so when he went after it, and promoted it, he had great credibility among the faculty,” she said. Kroboth recalls that Zemaitis was one of the earliest adopters of Blackboard, used at Pitt as the learning management system before Canvas — one of only six faculty trying it out across many schools at first. He was also, she recalled, “among the first faculty members to use video technology to broadcast a course to two campuses.”
Zemaitis also developed the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program in Pennsylvania, she said, “as a way to identify over-prescribers and patient opiate ‘shoppers.’ He worked through the appropriate channels in Harrisburg and, in August 2015, the program was implemented. By 2023, Pennsylvania was sharing prescription drug monitoring data with over 30 states and military programs to track interstate ‘shopping.’
“He saw that there was a crisis, not only in Pennsylvania but across the nation, and there were some ways of helping,” she said. “He took that on because he said that it was a tool pharmacists could use.”
She also pointed to his work with Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg and others for the “Continuum of Care” publication and program that addresses all forms of needs of those experiencing homelessness. Zemaitis also teamed with then-Senior Vice Chancellor Arthur Levine to develop the Pitt-industry medical marijuana research joint venture.
In the School of Pharmacy, Zemaitis served as vice chair for education in the department of pharmaceutical sciences from 1996 to 2002, then as interim chair for two years.
Zemaitis held the former job when the school was adding its pharmacy doctorate program, and “he really showed the way again,” Kroboth said. She and he were part of a team that developed a course that remains in place today “as cognitive scaffolding, a survey course of these different areas in pharmacology. He had brought a willingness to try new things that set an example for other people in leadership.”
Another of Zemaitis’ former students and colleagues, Sam Poloyac, is now dean at the University of Texas–Austin’s College of Pharmacy. He was at Pitt for 21 years, including as associate dean.
As a professor, Zemaitis “was a very interactive, engaging faculty member,” Poloyac said. “He explained things in a clear and sometimes entertaining way. He always had that sharp wit that he would bring to the classroom,” and his classes were highly sought by students.
As a colleague, he added, “when you needed to talk about anything, you'd knock on his door. He was a straight shooter and he had a real clear way of thinking about things and he knew the college really well. I could turn to him for advice on many, many topics.”
He was part of a team-taught course with Zemaitis, “Principles of Drug Interaction,” meeting often to discuss the synergy between their two class portions and sharing students’ progress. “He helped me out a lot when I first was faculty,” said Poloyac, and also when Poloyac moved to the tenure track.
Zemaitis had a memorable way with words, and Poloyac recalls discussing how school programs were outgrowing their facility at a faculty retreat in 2003, only to hear Zemaitis sum up the situation: “‘I equate the school to a turtle on steroids. It is growing in the inside but it has nowhere else to go.’
“His wit wasn't just for making people laugh,” he added. “It had a point to it. He was always focused on how we could get better together and I always appreciated that.”
Amy Lynn Seybert, the school’s current dean, who also was Zemaitis’ student and colleague, recalled: “He spent decades teaching, laughing and making every day at Pitt Pharmacy special.”
Michael Alan Zemaitis was born on Aug. 21, 1946, in York, Pa. He earned his BS in Pharmacy from Pitt in 1968 and his PhD in Pharmacology from Penn State’s College of Medicine in 1975. He spent his entire academic career at the Pitt’s School of Pharmacy.
He is survived by his wife, Virginia “Ginny” Zemaitis; children David (Staci) Zemaitis, Mark (Bethany) Zemaitis, Kristi Bigos and Michael Bigos; grandchildren Katie, Michael, Sam, Rebecca, Tessa, Dylan, Rowan, Caroline, Griffin and Makena; sister Ann (Wes) Bridge and brother Tom (Jackie) Zemaitis; nieces and nephews Amy, Jane, Dan (Kelly), Steve (Liz) and their children Elena, Maya, Nolan, Will, Quinn, and Eve.
Memorial gifts are suggested to the F. Gary Haberle Scholarship Fund at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.
— Marty Levine