Zada Mary Cooper

Zada Mary Cooper (January 31, 1875 – May 6, 1961) was an American pharmacist and a professor of pharmacy at the University of Iowa. Cooper helped found the Women's Section of the American Pharmacists Association in 1912. She was its president in 1917. She founded the pharmacy fraternities Kappa Epsilon and Rho Chi.

Early life Zada Mary Cooper was born in Quasqueton, Iowa on January 31, 1875. She attended the Normal Institute in Independence, Iowa. She graduated from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 1897.

Career Cooper became a registered pharmacist on March 9, 1875. Beginning as an assistant, she worked at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy for 45 years, becoming an instructor in 1905, an assistant professor in 1912, and an associate professor in 1942. She retired as a professor emeritus in 1942. She helped found the Women's Section of the American Pharmacists Association in 1912. She served on its Executive and Membership committees from 1913 to 1916 and was elected its president in 1917.

Honors Cooper was an honorary member of the national honor society Iota Sigma Pi.

On April 30, 2016, the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy held the Zada Cooper Leadership Symposium, featuring several speakers on the subject of pharmacy education.

Personal life While working the university, Cooper lived in Red Oak, Iowa. She was regent of the Pilgram chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a membere of the University Club.

After retiring, Cooper lived with her two brothers in Villisca, Iowa. She died on May 6, 1961, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Selected publications "Why Apprentices Should Take a Course in College Before Engaging in Practice", Proceedings of the Iowa Pharmaceutical Association, 1904 "Ladies as Druggists: Their Value to the Profession", Proceedings of the Iowa Pharmaceutical Association, 1905 "The Ideal Pharmacist", Proceedings of the Iowa Pharmaceutical Association, 1906 "Formula on the Bottle – Why Should the Druggists and the People Demand it", Proceedings of the Iowa Pharmaceutical Association, 1906 "Co-operation Between Physicians and Pharmacists, The Advantages and How Best to Bright It About", Proceedings of the Iowa Pharmaceutical Association, 1909 "Women in Pharmacy", The Druggists Circular, 1914 "Some Phases of a Pharmacist's Duty to the Public", Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 1914 "Should a Library Reading Course Be Made a Part of the Curriculum of Colleges of Pharmacy", Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 1916 "Women Should be Urged to Study Pharmacy", The Druggists Circular, 1918 "Where are Pharmacists Ten Years After Graduation from College", Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 1919 "Pharmaceutical Arithmetic", Spatula, 1922 "The Lure of Research", Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 1926