Another historic grand opening takes place on campus today at 3 p.m. under the tent by the Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza.
Why did we build the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education?
Pharmacy building grand opening today
What: Grand opening of the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education.
When: Today at 3 p.m.
Where: Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza, on the north side of the new building.
Why: To celebrate, embark upon self-guided tours and enjoy fellowship and snacks.
Who: You! The campus is invited to join donors, dignitaries, UNMC leaders and the College of Pharmacy family.
How did Nebraska get this magnificent $35 million cathedral to science, yet another state-of-the-art jewel on UNMC’s Omaha campus?
It happened because Omaha philanthropists Ruth and Bill Scott, lead donors for the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery, became convinced that UNMC, and Nebraska, must step forward to take the lead in the global fight against new “superbugs” and other infectious diseases that continue to confound treatment and ravage the world.
It happened because Dianne and Allan Lozier determined that the future pharmacists educated at UNMC must be given every opportunity and tool to be among the best prepared in the U.S.
And it happened because distinguished alum Joseph Williams, a former major pharmaceutical company CEO, and so many other donors, large and small, believed in the power of pharmacy to improve lives.
Pharmacists have a huge impact on patients. And pharmaceutical science researchers can impact all mankind.
The 85,000-square-foot new building houses both state-of-the-art research and education space with next-generation technology to prepare future pharmacists for the changing health care landscape, using UNMC’s innovative educational model.
The type of drug discovery research work done on the new building’s third floor is the embodiment of the medical center’s mission to lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthy future for all individuals and communities.
“A focus on drug discovery in infectious diseases is critically important to global human health,” said Courtney Fletcher, Pharm.D., the College of Pharmacy’s dean.
Experiential learning spaces, like a model pharmacy, simulation suites, a compounding lab and a sterile product preparation lab, will enhance the educational experience of those trained here. But, said first-year pharmacy student Anthony Donovan, so will inspiration from the research going on just upstairs.
“Having all that in the same building where I’ll be going to school is really cool,” Donovan said.