Strategic Plan for the College of Pharmacy

Mission

The mission of the University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy is to further the frontiers of pharmacy clinical practice and biomedical and clinical research through selection of the finest faculty and most promising students whose talents and backgrounds will be responsive to society; through provision of state-of-the-art clinical environments and research laboratories; and to provide leadership in refining and advancing the roles of the pharmacy practitioner and graduate biomedical scientist.

Vision

To become a pre-eminent institution and be ranked among the national leaders in recognition of the College’s achievements in Pharmacy and Graduate Education, Pharmacy Practice, Biomedical and Clinical Research and Service.

External opportunities and challenges

Pharmacy is facing major changes in both the professional and research arenas which in turn are creating opportunities and challenges. The changes in the professional area relate to advances in automation, medical technology, introduction of managed care, information technology, higher reliance on drugs to contain medical costs, managed care with its benchmarking, cost containment, integrated service case management, and a trend toward a holistic approach to medical care. In addition there is an increasing recognition of the contribution of cultural and genetic factors to treatment outcomes. We are also seeing a re-emergence of alternative medicine as well as a need for more patient involvement in managing health and disease.

Another, perhaps less obvious challenge facing the profession which needs to be taken into consideration when making both short and long term plans is the shortage of pharmacists available to work in the traditional areas of pharmacy.

In the area of drug discovery and drug development, we have seen vast advancements in molecular biology, molecular pharmacology, pharmacogenomics, informatics, structural biology, computational chemistry, high throughput screening and combinatorial chemistry that have created a whole new approach to the discovery and development of therapeutics.

In the clinical research arena there is an increasing need for researchers who have highly sophisticated knowledge and expertise at both the applied and molecular levels and for researchers who can assess the outcome of treatment and clinical decisions in light of economic, medical and societal variables.

Goals

To become a pre-eminent College of Pharmacy within the current constraints imposed by changes in the health care and health sciences, the College has set the following five goals:

1. Strengthen and broaden its clinical program to meet the challenges in the health care environment. This means that we must increase the number of highly qualified clinical faculty, provide more clinical experiential opportunities for the faculty in the clinical area, develop a residency program, and provide a top quality clerkship experience for all students.

2. Develop the four key research areas central to the College’s mission into national recognized research centers:

•Drug Discovery•Drug Development•Clinical Therapeutics•Outcome Research3.Build new interdisciplinary and collaborative educational and research opportunities.4.Develop a more flexible professional program to more rapidly respond to future changes.5.Increase the student enrollment to meet the increasing demand for graduates in pharmaceutical care, and in the biomedical and clinical research arenas.

Current Strengths

The College has a dedicated faculty and strong student and alumni components. The faculty are known for their commitment to teaching and concern for the students. The faculty are also eager to expand and participate in the University efforts to increase collaboration across schools and colleges and to develop UGA into a leading biomedical research university. The quality of the students is high and with the increasing opportunities available to graduates of the College, the recruitment of top quality students is likely to even improve. The alumni have always been strong and loyal supporters of the College by their generous gifts and by providing practical training to our students.

Current Weaknesses

The current space is not adequate in terms of the quality and size to support the educational and research goals of the College. The RC Wilson College of Pharmacy Building was completed in 1964 and is to the point of showing its 35 years of wear and tear. The laboratories are dated and poorly suited for the type of biological and chemical research needed to be competitive today. Additionally, faculty who are located at MCG do not have dedicated research space and must seek space through the generosity of collaborators.

The teaching facilities are outmoded, and consequently they are poorly suited to modern pharmacy teaching. The current educational model centers around problem-based learning, teamwork, and practice groups. The building cannot accommodate this type of teaching for the current number of students, let alone an increased student body.

Resources needed

If the College is to achieve its vision and realize its goals, it is essential that both additional and renovated space be identified. To expand the student body, conduct quality teaching and to provide modern research facilities for faculty and students, it is essential that additional and better space be provided. To develop interdisciplinary relationships in a meaningful way, it is also important to recognize the need to share buildings and facilities with faculty and staff outside the College. A new pharmacy building and renovation of the old pharmacy building are currently ranked as the University’s top priority for capital improvement projects. To increase the student body and to strengthen the clinical educational experience, the College will require additional EFT commensurate with an increased student body.

Expanding the College research in the biomedical field will require additional research funding, renovated space and a major investment in new equipment. Collaborative work both internal and external to the University will require the commitment of additional infrastructure funds.

Equipment

The College needs to establish a combinatorial chemistry/high throughput screening core facility. To fully develop this Core, the College will need robotic screening equipment, parallel synthesizers, and additional mass spec equipment. Faculty access to NMR, supercomputers, facilities and equipment for structural determinations, confocal microscopy is essential.

Strategic priorities and funding

1.BuildingThe top priority is to secure a new building for the College and to upgrade the existing facility. The extent of how the other goals of the College can be achieved and their timeline is heavily dependent upon when upgraded space can be secured. The funding for the project will be mainly through the capital budget of the University. Funds to equip the new space will in part be sought through gifts and donations.

2. Professional and Undergraduate Education

To respond to the professional changes in pharmacy and to the shortage of highly trained professionals, the College needs to increase its student enrollment, institute advanced professional training through internships, and develop a more flexible program to offer a wider educational opportunity to its professional students. The College also sees a need to increase its involvement in undergraduate education in those areas of its expertise that are of general interest. Resources needed will include additional space, additional faculty, and funding for advanced professional training. Funding will be sought in part from central University sources to accommodate the increased student numbers, through partnering with the health care industry, fund raising and through differential professional fees.

3. Research and Graduate Education

To improve the research achievements of the College, it is important to improve the faculty’s ability to compete for extramural funds. Current trends in biomedical research are directed toward more interdisciplinary research and federal funding favors such an approach. The College will strengthen its interdisciplinary efforts to better compete for research funds. Some of the initiatives being developed are a University-wide combinatorial chemistry core facility within the College, development of and participation in an interdisciplinary graduate program(s), development of a joint seminar series, use of joint search committees for new faculty, and the encouragement of an increased use of joint appointments with other units. Funding will be sought in part through the biomedical initiative, the Georgia Research Alliance, through faculty research initiatives, industrial collaborative efforts and fund raising.