U.S. News & World Report
LEXINGTON, KY - The University of Kentucky's College of Pharmacy has racked up some high ratings: fifth nationally in 's survey of pharmacy programs; students who are ranked first in the nation in first-time pass rates on the national licensing exam; and a research faculty that ranks fourth out of 354 institutions when it comes to scholarly activity.
Add to those impressive statistics a new rating: the world's largest pharmacy education building, located at 789 S. Limestone in Lexington. With 286,000 square feet, the new building dwarfs its predecessor, offering triple the space.
Part of a 20-year, $2.5 billion expansion of the university's academic medical campus, it is also the largest academic building in the state and among the largest in the nation.
Designed by EOP Architects of Lexington in association with Ellenzweig of Cambridge, Mass., and built by Messer Construction of Lexington, the new facility has been under construction since 2007 at a cost of $134 million, with $120 million of that awarded by the Kentucky legislature.
The new building's most impressive feature is a five-story atrium. Interim Pharmacy Dean Patrick McNamara said that, looking up from the first floor, "it accentuates how from the professional program to pharmaceutical research, faculty, staff and students at the college are interconnected and strive for many of the same goals."
The building is arranged to follow a pharmacist's path, with the department of admissions and other offices on the first floor. Classrooms and laboratories are on the second and third floors. Research labs will be on the fourth and fifth floors.
At the facility's dedication ceremony, white-coated pharmacy students and faculty lined the railings of the atrium on each floor. Most of the ceremony's speakers, looking up from the first floor, commented on this impressive site.
University of Kentucky President Dr. Lee Todd said, "A lot of white coats - that gives you inspiration for what this university does." He termed the General Assembly's funding "a major commitment for the state of Kentucky and a significant moment for our Top 20 push."
Commenting on the high national ranking of the College of Pharmacy, Todd singled out for recognition several pharmacy students and faculty members who have achieved national notice for their leadership and research. He noted that "UK pharmacy faculty members have created 19 start-up companies over the last few years."
Linking the new pharmacy building with the biological and medical sciences building and the future research building, Todd said that these closely located buildings "are economic drivers for the state. They will bring research dollars into the state."
Interim College of Pharmacy Dean Dr. Patrick McNamara said that the new building "challenges the faculty and students to do even more. To borrow a phrase from Coach Cal, 'We're ready to take our game to the next level.'"
Both McNamara and Dr. Michael Karpf, UK's executive vice president for health affairs, emphasized how the new building will offer many chances for inter-professional research and collaboration. Faculty members and students from such areas as biological engineering, cancer research and neuroscience are already working with their counterparts in pharmacy.
Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry and Governor Steve Beshear both spoke of how the College of Pharmacy is an important part of the growing medical complex at the southern edge of the campus. Beshear said, "This medical complex will be a major catalyst for improving the health of Kentuckians and spurring economic development."
The loudest applause was for Alex Flannery, a UK pharmacy student in the class of 2011. Flannery enthusiastically described various features in the new building.
Those features include two 219-seat auditoriums, a 110-seat classroom, a 54-seat classroom, a teaching laboratory with compounding laboratory and patient assessment rooms, and nine group learning rooms.
The new building has the most up-to-date wireless technology. A video and teleconferencing classroom will allow faculty and students to connect with more than 300 volunteer faculty members throughout Kentucky.
Research facilities have been designed to make collaboration easier for faculty and students working in chemistry, biology and pharmaceutical laboratory areas.
The Institute for Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy (iPOP) will also be located in the new building. iPOP is a new translational research endeavor focused on developing research, training and consultative programs in pharmaceutical policy, pharmaceutical health outcomes and economic evaluation and decision analysis.
The College of Pharmacy has 513 students pursuing a four-year, PharmD degree. Ninety percent of these students are Kentucky residents and many of them will return to their communities to work in local drugstores, hospitals or clinics.
The college has 72 graduate students working toward doctorates in pharmaceutical sciences and pharmaceutical policy. These students will go on to teach in colleges of pharmacy or, work for pharmaceutical companies or the government. College of Pharmacy alumni number more than 5,200.