We often focus on the College’s needs and aspirations.  Please allow me to take a few moments to share with you some accomplishments of this past year.

• We graduated 155 Bachelor of Science, Doctor of Pharmacy, Masters and Ph.D. students in May.
• On April 16, after two years of intensive evaluation, planning, and input, the Faculty Senate voted to approve the formation of the Academic Health Collaborative with three colleges: Pharmacy, Nursing, and a newly created College of Health Sciences; an Institute for Integrated Health and Innovation; and an Office of Shared Services. I will be providing more information about this exciting new opportunity in the near future.
• The College awarded over 100 scholarships totaling almost $140,000 to our B.S, Pharm.D. and graduate students, and we provided over $30,000 assistance for student travel to professional conferences for approximately 130 students.
• We welcomed three new faculty and several new staff members to the College family.
• The College ranks in the top 25 in NIH funding among all colleges of pharmacy and in the top 10 in the match rate for the highly competitive Pharm.D. Post Doctoral Residency Program.
• Our students, whether they are B.S. (pharmaceutical sciences), Pharm.D. or graduate students, can still count on nearly-universal employment post-graduation.
• We launched a Corporate Affiliates Program and unveiled the Alex and Ani Positive Impact Lab.

It is clear that President David Dooley’s visionary plan and our Academic Plan, Charting Our Path to the Future, have provided the right vision for URI, and that the proposed multi-disciplinary initiatives are worth the risk.  We remain committed to them through the College of Pharmacy, to the expansion of our faculty, and to the support of student needs.  In these changing times at URI, we will continue to look to those closest to the College to keep our standards high through investment in URI and the College of Pharmacy.

As we’ve noted before, there are still essential program enhancements and capital projects to invest in, opportunities to attract productive faculty to support our research and teaching, research that must be supported, and—most of all—an expanding financial aid mission to which we are committed.  We have fared much better than some of our peer institutions, but rely on a much smaller endowment than most of them.  So there is work to be done, and I hope we can continue to count on your help.

While the academic year is coming to a close, our work to strengthen alumni, parent, and industry relationships continues.  You may remain confident that the effectiveness of our outreach efforts will be measured through the progress of the College’s Strategic Plan.  In the uncertainty of our financial times, we hope this responsible management communicates to you that URI’s College of Pharmacy is a sound investment—and that strengthening the University will also enrich lives globally through the transformative work of our students, faculty and alumni in a variety of teaching, research and professional disciplines.

As always, please let me know of your thoughts and questions about these efforts.  Thank you again for your generosity.

Paul Larrat, Ph.D.
Interim Dean and Professor