School pact builds in-state pharma talent

The University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University have inked an agreement that should help develop employees for the state's health care industry.

A new initiative, dubbed the Pharmacy Preferred Admission Program, will offer preferred admission into the U-M doctoral pharmacy program to a small number of promising Grand Valley freshmen. The U-M College of Pharmacy will reserve up to eight positions annually in its four-year PharmD doctoral program for admittance of Grand Valley freshmen who complete a rigorous undergraduate program of pre-pharmacy coursework and other requirements.

"This is an exciting example of two Michigan institutions of higher education working together to address mutual goals," said Frank Ascione, dean of the U-M College of Pharmacy.

"This program allows the U-M College of Pharmacy to tap into a new pool of in-state talent," Ascione said. "At the same time, it creates opportunities for outstanding Grand Valley students who may not have considered this to be a possible career path."

The agreement was signed Friday by U-M President Mary Sue Coleman and Grand Valley President Thomas J. Haas at a meeting of the U-M Board of Regents in Grand Rapids.

Grand Valley State University does not have a pharmacy school. But it offers graduate-level programs in health-related fields that include nursing, physical therapy, physician assistant, occupational therapy, health science, and health administration.

"This partnership further expands the breadth of health profession program offerings available to students by bringing together two premier institutions," said Jean Nagelkerk, Grand Valley's vice provost for health.

"As Grand Valley contributes to the development of the future pharmacy workforce, this agreement will enhance our presence as a partner in Michigan's growing health care community," Nagelkerk said. "It also benefits Grand Valley's students, who will have access to one of the top pharmacy educational programs in the nation."

The U-M College of Pharmacy receives about 500 applications annually for 80 openings in its highly regarded PharmD doctoral program. Under the new agreement, up to eight of those positions will be reserved for Grand Valley students who successfully complete the Preferred Admission Program.

It is the first collaboration of its kind that the U-M College of Pharmacy has formed with another university. The first group of participating freshmen will be admitted to the program in the fall of 2011.

"We don't have an undergraduate program on the western side of the state. But this initiative allows us to work with Grand Valley to identify talented, motivated students from western Michigan who are eager to pursue careers in pharmacy," U-M's Ascione said. "Grand Valley will identify those high-potential students, then we will work together to make sure they meet our high standards."

This is the second preferred-admission agreement between U-M and Grand Valley. A 2009 agreement enables selected U-M kinesiology students to enter Grand Valley's master's degree program in occupational therapy.