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College of Pharmacy is on-schedule,
on-budget for Aug. 13 class start next year
It’s official: Manchester College now is accepting applications for its four-year doctoral program in pharmacy. The 80,000-square-foot College of Pharmacy is rising swiftly near Interstate 69 and Dupont Road on the north side of Fort Wayne, on-schedule for the first day of classes on Aug. 13, 2012.
“The College of Pharmacy is progressing well, and the already hectic pace continues to accelerate,” says founding Dean Philip J. Medon, vice president of the College of Pharmacy. “It is an exciting and very busy time.”
The first pharmacy program in northern Indiana will support economic development in the region with a $5.5 million payroll and 50 employees, including 40 faculty members. The School will graduate 70 pharmacists annually (beginning in spring 2016), many of them remaining in northeast Indiana to practice in clinics, health care centers, retail pharmacies and hospitals.
“Pharmacy is both a noble and fast-growing profession,” said Gov. Mitch Daniels at the Aug. 4 groundbreaking ceremony. “Manchester will help us meet the rising demand for this highly skilled, well-paid profession.”
The groundbreaking drew a large crowd that included government and health care leaders, donors and media. “We are grateful to everyone who has shared our vision for this new school and especially to the Lilly Endowment for its generous support that makes this facility possible,” President Jo Young Switzer told the gathering. The Endowment has awarded the College $35 million to develop the College of Pharmacy.
“Our graduates will represent the next generation of pharmacists – people who are service conscious, socially aware and use their critical thinking and problem solving skills for the welfare of humanity,” said Dean Medon. It is the mission of Manchester College to graduate persons who lead compassionate, principled and productive lives that improve the human condition.
Contractors are completing foundation and steel work on the $20 million facility. Construction is on-budget and on-schedule to be under-roof by Dec. 1, Medon said. The College plans to erect a Spartan Cam on the site so alumni and friends can watch the progress from their computers.
The pace is equally fast within the temporary College of Pharmacy facilities in mid-city Fort Wayne. “A year ago, I was the only faculty member, and we have now reached 21,” said Medon. Together with four staff members, “we now have the nucleus of our team in place and I am proud of the way the team is working as a unit already.”
The goal is to have 30 faculty and staff members in place by July 2012. The national search has netted faculty from Oregon to Tennessee, Virginia to Maine, and many from the Midwest, he said. Faculty newcomers quickly join in the accreditation process, which includes developing a curriculum that will engage pharmacy students in a doctoral program of classroom, experiential and research experiences. Manchester College is working closely with the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
The College of Pharmacy began accepting student applications Aug. 1, with enrollment interviews scheduled to begin in February. Total enrollment of 280 students is anticipated when the first class graduates in spring 2016.
Meanwhile, 44 undergraduate students are enrolled in pre-pharmacy coursework at Manchester College in North Manchester.
To learn more about the Manchester College College of Pharmacy, click here. |
