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The final days of December are a good time for reflection on the year, and to express thanks to those for whom you are grateful.
2013, was a very good year for the College of Pharmacy. The highlights included:
- receiving continued accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) for eight years (the maximum possible);
- the graduation of our class of 2013 and watching them very successfully enter professional pharmacy practice;
- welcoming four new faculty, Drs. Li, Mahato, Oupicky and Scarsi;
- providing more than 100 pharmacy students more than $600,000 in scholarships and awards; and
- breaking ground for the new pharmacy building - the Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education - and Center for Drug Discovery.
A very good year, indeed!
Nationally, and increasingly internationally, we are regarded as one of the preeminent colleges of pharmacy. The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) is published by the Center for World-Class Universities, Graduate School of Education of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China and ranks us as one of the top 75 colleges of pharmacy in the world. This is because of the high standards of excellence we have for what we do: the education of pharmacists, the education of pharmaceutical scientists, and the development of leaders. All that we achieve, we do so because of the faculty, staff and students of the College, and our alumni and friends.
Our faculty are world class. They are dedicated educators and scholars, and many are active pharmacy practitioners. All are role models and leaders: they are sought after at community, state, national and international levels because of their expertise to work with professional organizations, health care industries, consumer groups and governmental agencies.
Our staff are vital to everything that we do. They make sure the students get admitted and registered for courses, the syllabi and handout are prepared, the rooms are scheduled, the students select sites for rotations, the grants get submitted and the supplies get ordered. And, I could go on. And, they do all of this with a smile on their face. And, very simply, we couldn't fulfill our mission without them.
Our students continually amaze me. They know the legacy of excellence established by our alumni and that much is expected of them - they study hard to live up to those expectations. A pharmacy education is expensive - most of our students work part time. Yet they find some spare time to think of others, to give back. The following two links will take you to a video of our students trying to make the holidays a bit brighter for children in the hospital, and a news article about the outreach activities of our pharmacy students to elementary school students. There is not anything more I need to say about these fine individuals.
Pharmacy Students Sing for Children
Pharmacy Students Outreach to Elementary School Students
The mission of the College is enhanced because of gifts, of both time and treasure, from our alumni and friends. They give the vast majority of the scholarships and awards we provide yearly. And the funds to build the new, $35 million College of Pharmacy building will all come from private donations. We would be a lesser college without this support.
I want to extend my personal and deep gratitude to the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the UNMC College of Pharmacy. Thank you for all you do on behalf of the College of Pharmacy and UNMC.
Warmest Christmas and New Year's wishes to you all.
Courtney V. Fletcher, Pharm.D.
Dean and Professor
PS Click here for video highlights of 2013.
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