This map was designed by graphic artists from the College of Sciences for the College of Pharmacy’s annual report. It shows the location of the future Biomedical and Health Sciences Building in the center.
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If all goes according to plan without delays, this could be the timeline for progression of the College of Pharmacy relocation from Pullman to Spokane:
2011
January-March: Legislature considers funding request. Summer 2011: If construction funds approved, building begins.
2013
December: Building may be ready for occupation; moving begins.
2014
August: School year begins. All pharmacy classes together in Spokane for first time. |
2010 was the year conversation in the College of Pharmacy became about “when” the rest of the college would move from Pullman to WSU Spokane, instead of “whether” the college would consolidate there.
“The consolidation of our College of Pharmacy at WSU Spokane is an integral part of our strategy to make that campus the health sciences campus for our university, as recently designated by the Board of Regents,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd.
The Washington Legislature approved funding in February for the design of a new building for pharmacy and other health sciences in Spokane. It was the second consecutive year state legislators allocated money – during tough economic times – to WSU’s top construction priority.
“WSU Spokane will be the site of a new Biomedical/Health Sciences Building, our university’s top capital funding priority for the upcoming legislative session,” Floyd said.
The decision to relocate the remaining half of the college from Pullman has been in the works for the past few years. It is necessary to meet national standards for pharmacy education that require students to get more hands-on education with real patients.
“Spokane is home to large and growing medical centers that will provide our pharmacy students with outstanding internship and patient care opportunities,” Floyd said.
In addition, the college curriculum calls for a few classes where pharmacy students learn alongside students from nursing, medicine and other health sciences. It is easier to do that at WSU Spokane, where a high percentage of students is enrolled in one of the many health sciences disciplines offered on campus by WSU or Eastern Washington University. These interprofessional lessons are recommended by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
With other health sciences disciplines in close proximity, it is a unique opportunity to create a new model not only for health sciences education but also research and service, said Bill Campbell, who served as interim pharmacy dean for the year. The college will share the new building with WSU medical sciences and the University of Washington’s medical education program.
“As the health-care sector continues to evolve and change, so too must our system of educating the professionals who will be practitioners and leaders in this new era,” Floyd said.