News Release

UNC-Chapel Hill, ECSU launch innovative joint pharmacy program,
groundbreaking partnership is the first of its kind in North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL—In response to the critical shortage of pharmacists in North Carolina, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Elizabeth City State University are launching a groundbreaking partnership in pharmacy education that will increase the number of pharmacy graduates from the University of North Carolina system.

The program, which begins this fall, lets students in northeastern North Carolina earn a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences from ECSU and a Doctor of Pharmacy from UNC-Chapel Hill while remaining on the ECSU campus. Ten to 15 students will be enrolled in the program. They will receive instruction through teleconferencing from UNC-Chapel Hill and through the use of innovative educational technologies and face-to-face instruction.

"This is a landmark collaboration in pharmaceutical education that will make a positive economic and educational impact not only in northeastern North Carolina but across the entire state," said Robert Blouin, dean of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy. "Our partnership with Elizabeth City will increase the number of pharmacy graduates from the UNC system and enable us to become pioneers in the application of multimedia technologies in pharmacy education."

ECSU Chancellor Mickey L. Burnim said he is confident the new program will have a positive effect on the region and state.

"We are quite pleased to launch this program jointly with our sister institution UNC-Chapel Hill," Burnim said. "It will mean greater professional opportunities for our students and better health care for the people of northeastern North Carolina."

The program arose from a 2002 study, mandated by the UNC Board of Governors and the Office of the President, that highlighted the imbalance in supply and demand for pharmacists in North Carolina, especially in rural areas. The study concluded that a partnership program between UNC-Chapel Hill and ECSU would best address this shortage by increasing enrollment of pharmacy students within the University system in a way that most efficiently uses state resources.  The partnership is also expected to increase the number of pharmacists representing minority and underserved populations in North Carolina, stimulate economic growth in the northeastern part of the state and develop an effective model for operating satellite professional-degree programs within the University system.

UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Pharmacy, founded in 1897, is the only public school of pharmacy in the state and one of the largest in the nation, graduating approximately 120 pharmacists a year. The school has more than 6,000 active alumni, of which 3,500 are practicing in 98 of North Carolina's 100 counties.

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UNC Office of the President contact:  Michelle Lambeth Williams, 919-843-5365