Dean's Note: Good things are happening at the College
We’re excited about what’s happening at the College of Pharmacy, not least because we have occupied a magnificent new facility, the Moye Pharmacy and Health Science Building. We are immensely grateful to Tony and Nancy Moye and many other generous donors who have helped bring us to this long-anticipated moment. Classes will begin in the building in January 2024. Faculty, students, and staff are looking forward to the energy and excitement of working in an environment that will enable us to teach, learn, serve, and inspire at the highest level, using the best methods and finest technology.
Having traveled widely in academic pharmacy circles for many years, I can say that our facility is second to none. It is truly the beginning of a new chapter in the 121-year history of the College.
Of course, facilities and technology are only part of our present and future. We still have to perform, achieve our vision to enrich health and improve lives and our mission to innovate in teaching, research, patient care, and service.
Let me share a few achievements:
First, our strategic plan is now mature and I am gratified to say that we achieved 95 percent of our objectives across all strategic priorities and the remainder are in progress. That’s despite a three-year worldwide pandemic and a national decline in applications and enrollment.
Second and relative to our competitor schools, our graduates are successful. Our most recent data on licensure is for the Class of 2022. That class achieved the highest licensure success on first attempt of the four schools in Georgia, factoring both the NAPLEX and the jurisprudence exam. We have room to improve on licensure success, but we’re more than holding our own among other schools. For the Class of 2023, we had a 96 percent placement rate, the sum of offers accepted, offers pending, anticipated employment within three months of graduation, or voluntarily postponing employment.
We graduate more Black and African American pharmacists than the other three schools in Georgia combined.
Third, our Ph.D. students win awards everywhere they present their work, a testament both to the students and our faculty in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Our Ph.D. graduates routinely secure positions in industry, government, and academia.
Fourth, our pharmacy students are high performing in leadership. Most recently, our chapter of the National Community Pharmacists Association was named national chapter of the year, the second time in three years. Other student organizations with recent national awards are Kappa Psi, Kappa Epsilon, Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, and the Academy of Student Pharmacists.
Fifth, our faculty members are prominent in national leadership, including elected office and task force and committee chairs.
Sixth, our research program continues to thrive with funding, publications, and a high citation rate.
We’re working hard to meet the challenges all pharmacy schools face with applications and enrollment but we believe we offer a value proposition that is appealing, a private school in Atlanta, part of a comprehensive research university with a strong research base in the College of Pharmacy, a highly diverse student body, a passionate, committed, caring faculty, an enormous and supportive alumni base, and a strong legacy of leadership, achievement, and networking.
As I like to say in many of my messages, the College of Pharmacy has educated role models for over 120 years. We don’t fear the future because our job is to shape it. Pharmacy will always be a valued and respected profession. It is the job of pharmacists to get the drugs right, to serve patients, keep them safe, and to change lives and communities. It is our job at the College of Pharmacy to prepare graduates who can fill this sacred societal role.
As always, I am honored and grateful to serve as your Dean. Come see us and tour our new building. You’re always welcome on campus.
Very sincerely,
Brian L. Crabtree, Dean
