Carol A. Ammon '73

Carol A. Ammon, Class of 1973, is the founder and retired chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company with market leadership in pain management. Based in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Endo is engaged in the research, development, sale and marketing of branded and generic pharmaceuticals used primarily to treat and manage pain. In May 2005, she retired as CEO after serving in that position since 1997.

In 1997, Ms. Ammon led a management buyout team and purchased 37 pharmaceutical products from the DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company to form Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. In July 2000, Endo became a publicly traded company, known as Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP), following the completion of its acquisition of Algos Pharmaceutical Corporation.

Prior to forming Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ms. Ammon spent 23 years in the pharmaceutical division of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, beginning in 1973 as an associate scientist in the Research and Development group. During her career at DuPont, she served in positions of increasing responsibility across research and development, finance, manufacturing, and sales and marketing.

In 1993, Ms. Ammon was appointed president of the generic pharmaceutical business unit of the DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company, the pharmaceutical joint venture of DuPont and Merck and Company, Inc. In 1996, she was named president of the U.S. Pharmaceuticals Division of DuPont Merck. As president, she was responsible for a significant share of DuPont Merck’s corporate revenue and earnings.

Ms. Ammon was named the CEO of the Year in 2004 by the Eastern Technology Council, an organization of 800 technology and life sciences companies in the Philadelphia region. The award recognizes a recipient’s leadership qualities, impact in the company’s industry and/or market, achievement of financial and other significant milestones, success in executing an operating strategy, and community industry involvement. Under her leadership, Endo also was the Eastern Technology Council’s Company of the Year in 2003. Ms. Ammon also received the 2003 Greater Philadelphia Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Health Sciences category. The Entrepreneur of the Year program recognizes “the accomplishments of the world’s outstanding entrepreneurs” and raises awareness “about the benefits they provide to our society.” Ms. Ammon was chosen as the winner of the 2005 Paradigm Award, the Philadelphia region’s most prestigious award for business people and received the Woman of Spirit Award from the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

She is the chairman of the board and a trustee of Christiana Care Health System. Ms. Ammon serves as a director of the Hagley Museum, Wilmington, Delaware and is a member of the Harvard Healthcare Advisory Board. She is also a director of Winterthur Museum in Wilmington.

In 2010, Ammon made a very generous $8 million contribution to CCSU through the Carol A. Ammon Foundation. Her gift is being used for student scholarships and academic program support.

As a symbol of gratitude, the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut State University has designated the School of Arts & Sciences at Central Connecticut State University the Carol A. Ammon School of Arts & Sciences, which later became the Carol A. Ammon College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences.

A native of New Hyde Park, New York, Ms. Ammon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Central Connecticut State College (now University). She also received an M.B.A. from Adelphi University and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa from Adelphi University in May of 2010.