The College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will start holding classes in their new $33 million building next semester. “The new building will be able to merry up with the talents and expertise that we produce here at Florida A&M University,” said Dr. James L. Moran, Jr., Coordinator for Advancement and Alumni Affairs at the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. According to Moran, the equipment and new technology in the 650,000 square-foot building will enable each student to have Internet accessibility for their laptop computers in each auditorium. The wireless building will also allow instructors to have the option of using CD, DVD, VCR or high screen capabilities. “There was a push for this new building from the College of Pharmacy and our renowned researchers to have a building that would put us on the cutting edge of current biomedical research,” Moran said. The College of Pharmacy’s administration said that the new pharmacy building was funded through various endowments and pharmaceutical companies, which seek partnerships with the College of Pharmacy, such as Eckerd’s and Blue Cross Blue Shield. According to Moran, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services presented the Pharmacy program with a $14.8 million grant for research a month before homecoming. During homecoming, the National Institute of Health presented the college with a record $10 million endowment. This endowment was the largest in the history of the university. “FAMU is No. 1 in the Southeast for receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and No. 4 in the nation,” Moran said. The College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science’s new building enables more opportunities for the program. “We have been on the cutting edge of pharmacy before, but now with the advances with technology available in the classroom, this expands our capabilities of doing distant education,” said Robert Thomas, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. “We will be able to do what we do, even better,” Thomas said. Not only will opportunities increase for pharmacy students, but the amount of students in the pharmacy program as well. “We will increase the enrollment in the program and continue recruiting the top students in the nation for our pharmacy program,” Moran said. According to students, the old building was very inconvenient because of its size. “I’m happy that the new pharmacy building is a lot bigger and it has more technology than the old one,” said Lauren Short, 19, a sophomore pharmacy student from South Orange, N.J. “The new pharmacy building will meet the standards of the program of being one of the top pharmacy schools in the nation,” Short said. According to Moran, the old building will be used until a new wing of the new pharmacy building is added. “Next year we will be starting on the new wing of the new pharmacy building,” Moran said. “It will be added onto the northeast side of the new building.”
Teesa Johnson can be reached at teesajohnson@hotmail.com.