GATORx W05.indd - College of Pharmacy - University of Florida

ON THE COVER:
Bill Noriega (‘54) established
his pharmacy in 1956.
(l-r) Mary Noriega Denham,
Bill Noriega, Melecia
Noriega, and John Noriega.
Photo by Jeff Knee
JEFF KNEE
LETTER FROM THE DEAN
In April 2005, we will be dedicating the new CVS/pharmacy Education Center of the University
of Florida College of Pharmacy at St. Petersburg College. It will be an exciting time as our
distance campus programs continue to grow and mature. We will be admitting our fourth
class to completely “build out” the campuses in St. Petersburg, Orlando and Jacksonville. Our
students are doing great things academically and professionally. I could not be more proud of their
accomplishments!
As we tour the new building in St. Petersburg, we will see a new skills laboratory that
is a miniature of the skills lab we have in our new building in Gainesville. It will have a model
pharmacy and stations used for compounding. We have an increasing presence in our curriculum
for compounding and those practices that seem to be providing a niche area of specialty for
pharmacy. Our students are interested in many areas of pharmacy but we see an increasing desire
among our students for preparation to own their own business.
Along with those interests, the college has successfully conducted its inaugural Institute
for Pharmacy Entrepreneurs which hosted 85 participants. The Institute was designed to
bring pharmacy owners who are contemplating an “exit strategy” for retirement together with
pharmacists interested in ownership. Educational tracks were developed for each group and
social events allowed for the participants to become acquainted. The college has been fortunate
to appoint Brian Kahan, Kahan & Associates, P.L., as the new Director of the Institute. Plans for a
second institute are underway.
Along with our growing first-professional-degree program, we continue to have significant
growth in the Working Professional Pharm.D. program. Since 1997, we have graduated more than
700 Pharm.D. students from the program. We add approximately 200 new students each year.
This year, we have new students located in Korea. Korea is moving toward the Pharm.D. degree as
the entry level practice degree and the baccalaureate pharmacy graduates there have asked for our
program to help them prepare for the change. Our first class of German students will graduate this
May. The college has truly developed a global outreach to pharmacist wishing to have the skills
associated with the Pharm.D. with the intent purpose of using those skills in their own country.
It is exciting to see our vision of pharmaceutical care moving worldwide.
Our faculty continue to be productive in research. The college is now ranked number 13
in total NIH funding among all colleges and schools of pharmacy. This ranking puts us ahead of
such notable schools as Purdue, Ohio State, Kentucky, UNC Chapel Hill, Minnesota, University
of Texas, Austin, University of Wisconsin, University of Maryland and the University of Michigan
among others. We won’t stop there! The faculty continue to work hard every day educating future
scientists and our professional students while at the same time producing research that will change
the world we live in.
I continue to be proud to be the dean of such a wonderful college. The faculty, staff and
students are among the best anywhere. We also want to thank our alumni for their continued
support of our programs. Go Gators!!!
William H. Riffee, Ph.D.
Associate Provost for Distance,
Continuing & Executive Education
Dean, College of Pharmacy