Sumit Desai, PharmD ’02, and Bhavesh Desai, PharmD ’02

SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT: SUMIT DESAI, PHARMD ’02, AND BHAVESH DESAI, PHARMD ’02

Sumit Desai, PharmD ’02, and Bhavesh Desai, PharmD ’02, are all about giving back. By establishing an endowed scholarship in their own names in 2015, Sumit Desai, PharmD, and his cousin, Bhavesh Desai, PharmD, JD, have distinguished themselves as the first College of Pharmacy alumni to establish a scholarship endowment.

It’s part of a giving trend for the pair. In 2010, the McKesson Corporation presented its Pharmacy of the Year Award to the cousins’ Yucaipa Valley Pharmacy, including an award of $2,500 for their leadership in the pharmacy industry. The Desais donated the money to WesternU. Dr. Bhavesh Desai also was the alumni speaker at the College of Pharmacy Commencement ceremony in 2011, encouraging the graduating class to “...become active alumni of the College of Pharmacy and the University.” The cousins are very active in the Indian Pharmacists Association, for which Bhavesh is a past president.

After selling Yucaipa Valley Pharmacy, the Desais now own two successful and growing pharmacies -- Guardian Health Mart Pharmacy in San Bernardino and California Specialty Pharmacy in Whittier. The College of Pharmacy and Western University of Health Sciences are grateful for their generosity and commitment not only to their patients, but also to future generations of health care practitioners. They’re setting the bar high as health professionals and alumni.