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Active consideration for establishing a school of pharmacy at Campbell University was initiated in 1982. Dr. Jerry Wallace, provost, collected data relating to supply of pharmacists, number of pharmacy schools, and location of pharmacy schools, physical facilities needed, faculty requirements, and clinical facilities necessary for a quality pharmacy program. All evidence indicated there was need for another school of pharmacy in the southeastern region of the United States. The University was invited to appear before the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 18, 1985. After a careful review of consultant findings and a positive reception from the ACPE, Dr. Norman A. Wiggins, president, appeared before the Council on Christian Higher Education of the General Board of the Baptist State Convention to announce the University trustees’ decision to establish the Campbell University School of Pharmacy. Effective September 1, 1985, Dr. Ronald W. Maddox was appointed as the founding dean of the Campbell University School of Pharmacy. Prior to his appointment at Campbell, Dr. Maddox served as professor of clinical pharmacy and assistant dean of the Southern School of Pharmacy at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. In February, 1986, an evaluation panel from the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education visited Campbell University. This panel gave the School of Pharmacy a positive report which included the following statement, “the evaluation panel believes that the five-year plan for the School of Pharmacy is feasible, and expresses its general confidence in the ability of the School of Pharmacy to achieve its stated goals in compliance with ACPE standards.” In June, 1986, Campbell’s School of Pharmacy was awarded pre-candidate accreditation. At that time Campbell’s doctor of pharmacy program was listed with other accredited schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States. The new school was, also, accepted for full membership in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. In August of 1986, the charter class of fifty-four students entered the Campbell University School of Pharmacy. The class consisted of 90% North Carolina residents and 53% females. The overall grade point average of the entering class was 3.2/4.0 and 28% already had a B.S. degree in a science discipline. On September, 1986, Campbell University School of Pharmacy held its opening ceremonies. The occasion was attended by over three hundred pharmacy and community leaders. In the keynote address, ACPE Executive Director, Daniel Nona, Ph.D., noted the establishment of the first pharmacy school in 1820 and of the crude use of drugs, “which mostly aggravated instead of alleviating disease and sickness. The Campbell University School of Pharmacy opens upon the cusp of profound changes in health care delivery, and it faces educational and professional challenges which are associated with these changes.” Campbell’s charter pharmacy class graduated in May of 1990 and had unheard of board results with 100 percent of its 47 graduates passing their state and national pharmacy boards. At that time Provost Wallace indicated that the demand for pharmacists was great and starting salaries averaged $38,000 per year. Since its inception the School of Pharmacy has added bachelor and masters degrees in pharmaceutical science and clinical research. Accordingly the School has grown from 54 students in the 1986 charter class to over 400 doctor of pharmacy candidates, 127 students in clinical research, 99 students in pharmaceutical science and 361 pre-pharmacy students. In 2001, the University dedicated the Pharmacy Research Facility and is currently pursuing FDA certification for the facility. For the 2005 fall semester the School had its largest applicants for 100 available positions in the Doctor of Pharmacy Program. The program also boasts a number of outstanding achievements, including an overall passage rate on board exams of 99 percent and a 100 percent passage rate on board exams nine out of the last 15 years. Competing again 90 other schools in the nation, Campbell’s School of Pharmacy won the national Clinical Skills and Patient Counseling Competition twice. In May 2005, the Campbell University School of Pharmacy broke ground on a new pharmacy building projected to be complete by the fall 2006 semester. This new $9.9 million, 42,000 square foot facility will actually double the space contained in the school’s current facility. Located between the Science Building and Carter Gymnasium, the new three-story facility will feature classrooms, a student study center, breakout rooms, administrative and alumni suites, two 3,534 square-foot lecture halls, faculty offices, a Professional Association room, and close to 6,000 square-feet of laboratory space, as well as a lab preparation area. Through the new pharmacy teaching facility and the Research Facility, Campbell University will enhance its capability to train pharmacy students to meet current and future needs of our region and the nation. |
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