Concordia University of Wisconsin recently received a $100,000 donation from the Frank G. and Frieda K. Brotz family foundation of Sheboygan, and a $50,000 donation from the Ruth St. John and John Dunham West Foundation of Manitowoc for development of a School of Pharmacy building.
So far, the School of Pharmacy has raised nearly $5 million for the building project and needs to raise another $3 million to begin construction, said Curt Gielow, executive dean of the School of Pharmacy.
In addition, university officials have decided to “right size” the project by scaling down the size and cost of the building, and have gone to a new architect for the project, Gielow said.
“The original design was planned for 80,000 square feet, the new design is only 50,000 square feet,” he said.
According to Gielow, the previous plans were developed prior to the deans and other faculty being hired.
“The school has done a lot of refining of the design based on recommendations and input from new faculty,” he said. “These refinements have resulted in a smaller building and innovative design changes in the lecture halls and technology needs.”
Some of the facilities originally planned for the new school will also now be housed in renovated areas of existing buildings on campus, he said.
The new design, done by Mequon-based Mayer Helminiak Architects LLC, will feature two large multipurpose lecture halls; each complete with adjacent breakout rooms, a sponsored reception atrium visible from all floors of the building, a history of pharmacy museum, student studying and gathering areas, reception commons, a patio, office space and a practice pharmacy classroom.
Mayer Helminiak replaced Zimmerman Architectural Studios Inc., which Concordia, located in Mequon, originally hired for the project.
According to Gielow the changes have brought the cost of the project down from $18 million to an estimated $12 million.
In addition to Gielow, the school of pharmacy has also hired Lesley Luehrs, director of student affairs, and Doug Meyer, as the school’s director of experiential learning and head of the office of clinical pharmacy education. Meyer was also previously the assistant director of clinical pharmacy at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa.
Dr. Michael Brown, associate professor of pharmaceutical care and director of the pharmaceutical care learning center at the University Of Minnesota College Of Pharmacy has also joined as chairman of the department of pharmacy practice, and Dr. Mitchell Barnett has been hired as the director of assessment and assistant professor of pharmacy practice. Barnett is nationally recognized as an expert in pharmacy education assessment and improvement and previously commuted to Touro University School of Pharmacy in California, Gielow said.
“We are excited about our new additions,” Gielow said. “We have a few more candidates coming back for second interviews for other positions, but this is a young vibrant staff and we are looking forward to having them here.”
There are 42 students enrolled in Concordia’s pre-pharmacy program Gielow said. Those students as well as any other student enrolled in pre-pharmacy classes at other university can start applying for the first Concordia School of Pharmacy class in August of 2009.
“Applications for the first class beginning in August 2010 will be accepted this August,” Gielow said. “The process of admission will be a competitive one. Applications will come from a national pool of qualified applicants, so not everyone will be accepted.”
According to Gielow, the first class admitted into the School of Pharmacy will only accept 65 students. Along with the 42 students enrolled in pre-pharmacy courses at Concordia there are an additional 200 pre-pharmacy students at UW-Milwaukee who might also apply, he said. UWM does not have a pharmacy degree.
“Right now we are sticking with 65 students for the first year, we will eventually increase that number to 75 and then 100 being our maximum,” Gielow said.
“A lecture hall and classroom accommodations are being developed in the lower level of one of Concordia’s dormitory buildings,” Gielow said. “These areas will suffice for the initial class of 2010 until we can get them into the new building.”
Gielow hopes to begin bidding construction firms this fall for construction to begin in April 2010.
“The university has made a significant number of proposals to foundations and corporations,” Gielow said. “We anticipate that the philanthropic environment in our community is going to spring back the second half of the year. We are seeing more interest in what we are doing and are anticipating good support.”
