University of Colorado Denver’s School of Pharmacy Breaks Ground on New 165,000 Square-Foot Building on the Anschutz Medical Campus
Contact: Tonya Ewers, 303.315.6374, pager 303.266.0941, tonya.ewers@uchsc.edu
New building will help prepare pharmacists for a changing society
AURORA, Colo. (June 10, 2008) – As drug therapies become more complex; as our understanding of disease pathology grows; and as health care evolves; the University of Colorado Denver School of Pharmacy is preparing future pharmacists for a profession that is changing dramatically. These realities point to the increasing demand for pharmacists who are highly skilled and well prepared to manage complex drug-therapy regimens and to provide direct patient care for a wide variety of medical conditions. To meet the increasing health care needs of a changing and rapidly aging society, the UC Denver School of Pharmacy is constructing a new $59.5 million, 165,000 square-foot building.
The new building will be a sustainably-built, collaborative center of learning, preparing students for their roles as pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. It is projected to be ready for occupancy in late 2010, prior to the school’s 100th anniversary in 2011.
By action of the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents, when the new facility is completed, the school will be renamed the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in recognition of the Skaggs family and The ALSAM Foundation for their generosity and support of the school. In late 2006, the Foundation committed $10 million for the construction of the new building – the largest gift in the school’s history. This was followed by a grant of $1 million in 2008. Mr. L.S. Skaggs and his family are nationally recognized as pioneers in the retail drug and grocery business and as generous philanthropists.
“The prospect of a new building to house the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences begins an exciting new era for pharmacy education, research and patient care in Colorado,” said School of Pharmacy Dean Ralph Altiere. “With a state-of-the-art facility to take us into the future, we can build upon our tradition of excellence and strengthen our position as one of the nation’s top pharmacy schools.”
UC Denver’s School of Pharmacy is one of the top-ranked pharmacy schools in the nation and is widely recognized for having one of the most diverse pharmacy student bodies in the United States. Committed to pharmaceutical education, research and patient care, the school educates students in the biology of disease, the pharmacological and toxicological actions of drugs and the best clinical practices for the therapeutic uses of drugs and drug therapy management.
The school’s internationally renowned faculty conducts basic and clinical research in a variety of scientific fields to find the means to prevent, treat or cure disease and medical conditions while simultaneously working to improve the safety and effectiveness of existing drugs.
The school offers three academic degrees: Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), PhD in Toxicology, and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The University of Colorado Denver is one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver on the Downtown Campus and at Ninth & Colorado Blvd., and on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo., University of Colorado Denver is Colorado’s premier research university offering more than 100 degrees and programs in 13 schools and colleges and serving more than 28,000 students in Metro Denver and online. For more information, visit the web site at www.uchsc.edu or the UC Denver Newsroom at www.uchsc.edu/news.
