Last week, Butler University lost not only a professor, but a former student and well-respected doctor of pharmacy.

28-year-old Dr. Jennifer Ash, a 2003 Butler alumna of the Pharmacy program, died last week while on a ski trip in Colorado.

The Butler graduate returned at the start of the 2007-2008 school year after having previously taught at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

“We hired her last semester, so I was one of the people who got to interview her,” said Dr. Mary Andritz, the dean of the college of pharmacy.

“She came with faculty experience, so she could jump in supervising students here [at Butler]. She worked in the therapeutic courses with [third year pharmacy] students.”

Andritz said that Ash’s classes focused on how medications are used, how to follow up with students, and how to pull together basic techniques to use in a clinical situation.

Dr. Julie Koehler, the department chair for pharmacy, remarked on Ash’s successes as a student and a professional.

“She was a very bright student,” Koehler said. "She was also a great resident. We were proud that she accepted the position at Butler. She was successful as a clinician and a scholar. We were thrilled to hire her.”

Koehler, who stayed in touch with Ash during her time at Rutgers, explained that Ash was vacationing with colleagues from Rutgers University at the time of her death.

“The doctors believed she experienced several strokes after a day of skiing,” Koehler said. “The doctors noticed an artery tear, like one could experienced in a car accident. They think it was related to the skiing.”

Andritz said that Ash sustained a significant tear in one of the blood vessels in her brain, but did not know all the details.

According to Koehler, the family decided to take her off life support this past weekend, due to the extent of brain damage.

Koehler said that Ash was an organ donor, and that doctors will be able to save 7 lives. “Her pancreas was donated for diabetes research,” Koehler said.

Ash had Type 1 diabetes, which required her to take insulin. Koehler said that Ash would have been happy to see her body used for scientific research.

The funeral services were on the morning of Friday, March 28, at First United Methodist Church, 900 Indianapolis Road, Mooresville, IN.

A campus memorial service for Ash will be scheduled in the near future.

“It will probably be in April,” Andritz said. “We are working on a date. Probably some of her colleagues and students she taught this year will be there.

“I wonder how difficult it will be even then, several weeks after this. It makes you appreciate every day that much more.”

Koehler said, “[Ash] was a very positive person. She always had a smile on her face, a positive attitude, and her optimism was contagious.”

“She was well-liked by students, and honestly a bright individual, she had a bright future ahead.”