蓝莓视频

On January 7, 2008, the University of 蓝莓视频 School of Pharmacy ran its first class. The School had 90 students, six faculty members, and only a handful of staff.

A decade later, 蓝莓视频 Pharmacy has over 60 faculty and staff, 476 pharmacy students, 120 PharmD bridging students, 38 graduate students, and 766 alumni. The intersection of King and Victoria in downtown Kitchener is now referred to as the 鈥淚nnovation District,鈥澨齢ome to not only the University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 Health Sciences Campus, but also many tech and education organizations like Google, Communitech, and UW鈥檚 Velocity Garage.

On January 8, 2018, faculty, staff, and students gathered at the School of Pharmacy to acknowledge the growth and success of the last ten years.听 The launch kicked off the School鈥檚 10^th anniversary and is the first of many events planned for 2018. Speakers from the University and the School shared remarks on the past, present, and future of 蓝莓视频 Pharmacy.

鈥淲hen I look at what we see here now, I鈥檓 amazed at how things have developed,鈥� said听George Dixon,听vice-president academic &听provost at the University of 蓝莓视频.

Dixon was the dean of science when planning began for the Health Sciences Campus.听 He and the subsequent dean of science Terry McMahon were integral in the development of the project. Dixon recounted the challenging process of opening the first new pharmacy school in Canada in 20 years.

鈥淭his was not the innovation district at that time. This was waste industrial land,鈥� said Dixon.听

The University was approached by Kitchener mayor Carl Zehr about the prospect of moving some component of the University to downtown Kitchener. Zehr indicated that the city could provide both land and financial resources to support the project.

鈥淚 think the only reason that we were able to do this as a university was because we had a reputation within the province for innovative action and for getting things done," said Dixon.

UW鈥檚 current Dean of Science Bob Lemieux also reflected on the innovative spirit of Canada鈥檚 only co-operative education pharmacy school. Lemieux was followed by Professor Shawn Wettig and Director of Admissions, Professional Relations, and Undergraduate Affairs Ken Potvin who have both worked at the School since it opened.

鈥淎t the beginning, we had just 90 pioneering pharmacy students who bravely took a chance on us,鈥� said Hallman Director of the School David Edwards. 鈥淲e鈥檝e come a long way since then and we鈥檝e built a reputation for innovation in pharmacy education and research.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e chosen a theme of 鈥榖old start, bright future鈥� to represent our anniversary. It reflects the unique approach we took to pharmacy education when we began and the great things that await us as we continue to be a leader in pharmacy education and medication-related research.鈥�