Notre Dame Makes History With School Of Pharmacy
Jessica Kartalija reports its School of Pharmacy welcomed its inaugural class Wednesday.
Students from across the country are making history in Baltimore City.
“Very exciting. This is probably the best day of my life thus far,” said student Crystal Phillips.
The newly renovated Knott Science Center is now home to the School of Pharmacy. They’re learning their way around through a two-day orientation.
“College of Notre Dame of Maryland is a college of firsts. They have taken the initiative to start a school of pharmacy. It’s the first women’s college in the U.S. to have a school of pharmacy on board and offer a Doctor of Pharmacy degree,” said Dr. Valerie Hogue, Associate Dean.
Before now, the University of Maryland was the only other school in the state to have a school of pharmacy.
There were 500 applicants. Only 70 students were admitted to the four-year program.
“It’s very exciting because you get to be a part of history, pretty much, because you are going to be the inaugural class. So you are going to be the one that starts the program and sets the foundation for it,” said student Binyam Tefera.
There’s a shortage of pharmacists both locally and nationally. A new report says that by the year 2020, there will be a 157,000 shortage of pharmacists in the United States.
“It’s a concern because many of our states are not able to fill the positions very easily for pharmacists, so we are hoping our School of Pharmacy in Maryland is going to ease that burden,” said Hogue.
The program’s fourth year is focused on giving students a chance to work in practice settings.
Classes officially begin Aug. 24.
