Lilly Endowment grants funds to Manchester College to establish School of Pharmacy

Dec 21 2010

A small Midwest college that is producing alumni with sizeable reputations in the science world has received a $35 million grant from Lilly Endowment to launch a School of Pharmacy.

Manchester College, located in northern Indiana, has a Nobel Laureate in chemistry, the inventor of Teflon®, the discoverer of acid rain in North America and the first female commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration among its graduates.

The grant – the largest in Manchester College history – will help the liberal arts and sciences college develop its first doctoral program on a Fort Wayne campus, surrounded by regional hospitals, pharmacies and health care facilities and services.

Speaking on behalf of Lilly Endowment, Sara B. Cobb, vice president of education, said, "We are pleased to offer this funding to Manchester College to assist it in establishing its new School of Pharmacy. The school will further important efforts in Indiana to increase opportunities for education and careers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines. The Endowment believes this support should add significantly to the intellectual capital in Northeast Indiana and enhance the vibrant life sciences sector growing throughout the state."

Responding to the national shortage of pharmacists and openings in pharmacy schools, Manchester announced last fall its plans to seek accreditation for a four-year doctoral program in pharmacy, with the first classes beginning in fall 2012.

"Lilly Endowment is making a powerful impact on the college's ability to focus on the most important work before us: building a distinctive, academically strong, mission-centered School of Pharmacy," said President Jo Young Switzer.

"This grant enhances our tools to attract exceptional faculty in a highly competitive market," said Switzer. "When accredited, the School of Pharmacy will enroll 265 students in an intensive four-year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program. Regional hospitals, health care facilities and practitioners will provide a rich array of experiential sites and employment opportunities," she added.

The School of Pharmacy also has the endorsement of regional hospital, economic development, governmental and higher education leaders who see substantial opportunities to improve health care in Northeast Indiana. "School of Pharmacy faculty and students will be valued citizens of this region, where they will live, shop and volunteer," Switzer said.

The Lilly Endowment grant will significantly assist with startup costs, especially facility and laboratory needs as well as curricular enhancements. It will enable the school to develop the following strengths:

• A well-equipped, state-of-the-art Fort Wayne facility.
• A curriculum that educates skilled pharmacists with a commitment to be responsible members of their communities.
• An outstanding faculty to partner with a strong pharmacy and academic community in the region.
• Students, faculty and administrators who embrace the distinctive mission of Manchester College.

Perfectly timed in the early stages of the School of Pharmacy launch, the Lilly Endowment grant will enable Manchester College to exceed expectations with enhanced curriculum, specialized experiential sites, state-of-the art educational and research facilities, and institutional capacity, said Philip J. Medon, vice president and founding dean.

Recruiting and hiring are under way for faculty in pharmacy practice, pharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacy administration and biomedical science, said Medon, who led the highly successful startup of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's School of Pharmacy.

"Pharmacists practicing in patient-care environments will comprise the majority of the faculty," Medon said. "Pharmacy students will work side-by-side with pharmacists and other members of the health care team in medical care facilities and pharmacies in the community, learning firsthand about patient care in a variety of settings including adult medicine, ambulatory care, pediatrics, geriatrics, infectious diseases and psychiatric services."