DONATION HELPS FUND PHARMACY SCHOOL

Chicago State University is 1 step closer toopening a college of pharmacy. The retailchain Walgreens is donating $1 million over a5-year period to help fund program developmentfor the pharmacy school. The university,which received approval for the pharmacyprogram in April, wants to help encouragemore minority graduates into careers aspharmacists.

The grant will help with operating costsfor employing faculty members, hiringadministrative staff members, and recruitingstudents. The pharmacy school will startwith ~68 students and increase to ~100 studentsper year. The pharmacy school programwill take 6 years, according to the university.The college is scheduled to open inthe fall of 2008.

"We have 2 main focuses for communityinvolvement: health care and education," saidMichael Polzin, spokesman for the retailpharmacy chain. "And this gives us an opportunityto address both of those concerns.What this will do, it's going to open a careerpath to Illinois students who otherwise maynot have had this opportunity."