College of Pharmacy

An Investment in a Healthier Tomorrow

Pharmacists are a vital part of the healthcare team, dispensing medications and providing critical face-to-face advice and assistance – from advising an elderly person with multiple prescriptions, to counseling a young mother about over-the-counter medications for her sick child.

Nationally, nearly 70,000 new pharmacists will be needed by 2012, and as a rural state with the nation’s oldest population, Maine’s need is among the most acute.

As a regional leader in healthcare education and research, the University of New England in 2006 announced the launch of the College of Pharmacy and enrolled its first class of 100 Pharm. D. students in the fall of 2009. The University’s College of Pharmacy is focusing on three major areas:

• Educational excellence – training highly skilled pharmacists for hospitals, clinics and retail pharmacies.
• Research innovation – discovering groundbreaking medications and preparing students to work in emerging research areas such as pharmacogenomics.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration and clinical applications – working with UNE’s Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Health Professions and Arts and Sciences, as well as other research labs and hospitals in the region to further medical knowledge.
  

UNE's College of Pharmacy - A Reality

With the support of corporate contributors, foundations, individual donors and the people and the state of Maine, construction of the University of New England’s state-of-the-art College of Pharmacy building was completed by fall 2009 at UNE’s Portland Campus. 

The building is the first facility devoted entirely to pharmacy academic studies and research in the state of Maine. The building is also registered for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification with the U.S. Green Building Council.

The facility includes the Dallaire Drug Information Center and three innovative teaching laboratories - The Hannaford Pharmacy Practice Lab, The Sterile Products Lab and The Community Pharmacies Pharmaceutics Lab. It also includes state-of-the-art research labs designed to facilitate drug discovery and development  and a complement of lecture halls and classrooms equipped with the latest technologies.

Econmic Impact

The economic impact of the College of Pharmacy to the community exceeds $100 million. In recognition of the College's contributions to the city of Portland’s economic vitality, UNE was honored with the 2009 Downtown Portland Corporation Economic Achievement Award.

The College of Pharmacy was also cited by the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce  when it announced that UNE was the recipient of the 2010 Robert R. Masterton Award for Economic Development.

Support

The Hannaford Charitable Foundation provided the lead gift $1 million for the College of Pharmacy, one of the largest grants it has ever awarded. UNE's College of Pharmacy also secured significant funding from the Libra Foundation, the Betterment Fund, and pharmacist and UNE trustee Brian Dallaire.

In addition in August of 2008, Governor John Baldacci  announced that the College of Pharmacy had been awarded a $4 million grant from the Maine Technology Asset Fund established with a $50 million research and development bond approved by voters November 2007.

The grant helped fund the completion of the research labs designed to facilitate drug discovery and development and made it possible to to attract several outstanding federally-funded research faculty to the College's new research program. The facility and faculty have laid the foundation for more federal and foundation-funded research.