College of Notre Dame School of Pharmacy Welcomes Inaugural Class
Baltimore, Md., August 17, 2009 --- College of Notre Dame of Maryland School of Pharmacy welcomes its first class of 70 students to campus, starting with orientation on Wednesday, August 19. The first day of classes is Monday, August 24.
Nearly 500 students applied for the 70 seats in the inaugural class.
The School of Pharmacy will be the first one on the campus of a women’s college in the United States and the second in Maryland (after University of Maryland). The program will provide a distinctive focus on leadership development and women’s health care across the lifespan. Students are coming from 15 states including California, Texas, Washington, Florida and New Jersey.
Anne Y.F. Lin, Pharm.D., former dean of Midwestern University-College of Pharmacy in Glendale, Ariz., is the founding dean. Members of the leadership team and faculty have come from across the country (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Georgia, Mississippi, District of Columbia, Virginia) to be part of this new school.
The School of Pharmacy is a four-year, first professional degree program (doctor of pharmacy) consisting of 148 credit hours of study on campus. The program’s fourth year is dedicated to a prescribed set of courses delivered in actual practice settings.
Applicants to the program are expected to have a bachelor’s degree or 72 pre-pharmacy coursework credits.
Establishing the School of Pharmacy is one way for College of Notre Dame to address the nation’s critical health care needs. Demographics, medical advances, marketplace realities and employment trends are converging to create an urgent national need for pharmacists.
In addition, with seven qualified applicants for every one opening in America’s pharmacy schools, there is a clear need—nationally and regionally—for a new school of pharmacy.
As a Catholic women’s college, College of Notre Dame is uniquely suited to sponsor a school of pharmacy for several reasons:
- As a profession, pharmacy is attracting large numbers of women—nearly 65 percent of all pharmacy school enrollments are women.
- The school will provide a distinctive focus on women’s health care across the lifespan which will distinguish College of Notre Dame’s program from others.
- The dilemmas that accompany today’s medical advances call for pharmacists who are trained in ethical thinking and clear reasoning—longstanding hallmarks of a College of Notre Dame education.
- Additionally, the College’s location in one of the country’s leading health care centers will provide pharmacy students with a range of clinical practice options.
The large increase in the number of Americans 55 and older makes the community pharmacist key in managing many seniors’ complex prescription regimens. With advances from the pharmaceutical industry, the hospital pharmacist plays a more complex role in the care of each patient. The marketplace’s demand for pharmacists is significant as retail pharmacies require more staff to meet consumer need. Complicated insurance paperwork consumes greater amounts of the pharmacist’s time, requiring more staff to fill prescriptions, consult with physicians and counsel patients.
Discussions regarding the establishment of a school of pharmacy began in March 2006 with a feasibility study of faculty and staff. In May 2006, the College’s Board of Trustees authorized further study and consultation regarding the development of a school of pharmacy. During late summer and early fall a series of meetings and focus groups took place throughout campus for further discussion and campus involvement. In October, the Board of Trustees gave unanimous approval to submit a proposal to the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The School of Pharmacy was approved by MHEC in March 2007.