But with a wife and two children, it seemed like the right time to explore other options. He applied for and accepted the faculty position at the Southern School of Pharmacy, and has been with Mercer 23 years. During that time he has seen a lot of changes at the School and said he has come full circle in his role as a professor. Teaching is a very rewarding job. If I get a paper published or receive a research grant, that's self-explanatory.
Teaching is different.
Although there was very little research conducted at the Pharmacy School when Pollock first arrived, he was able to continue with his research, first obtaining a three-year grant with Dr. Matthews to conduct research in the area of arthritis and inflammation. He later began collaborating with Dr. Sheldon May of Georgia Tech. That collaboration is ongoing and Pollock is now doing more research than ever, but he says it's the students at the Southern School of Pharmacy that define his role as professor. And it was through a near-fatal accident involving his wife, Bunny, and himself that he began to realize just how important students really are. It happened in 1988 when a drunk driver drove the wrong way on a divided highway.