UH Hilo College of Pharmacy welcomes its inaugural class

HILO, Hawaii - Dr. Rose Y. Tseng, chancellor of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, today announced that the University‘s College of Pharmacy has achieved the first step in the Pharmacy School Accreditation Process. The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) has granted the College of Pharmacy Pre-Candidate Status.

The UH Hilo College of Pharmacy is the first school recognized by the ACPE to offer the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree in the State of Hawaiʻi. It is expected to enroll an inaugural class of 90 students beginning August 2007 — 45 students from Hawaiʻi and 45 students from the mainland and elsewhere in the world.

"The accreditation of the College of Pharmacy is great news for UH Hilo," Tseng said. "It allows us to address a critical shortage of and increasing demand for pharmacists in the workforce both in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Basin. It is also a significant milestone in UH Hilo‘s transformation from liberal arts college to comprehensive university."

As noted by Dr. John M. Pezzuto, founding dean of the College, "Achievement of this first step in the accreditation process is a significant milestone for the College of Pharmacy and the State of Hawai‘i. The students who will be in the program this semester are highly qualified, and we are looking forward to launching our exciting new curriculum. Being centrally located in the Pacific Basin, the UH Hilo College of Pharmacy is poised to become the center of pharmaceutical education, research and patient care services in the Asia Pacific Region."

The inaugural class will graduate in May 2011.