The VCU School of Pharmacy launched a B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences program in 2024 that is building a new pipeline for professional roles that don’t require an advanced pharmaceutical degree. A year later, interest in the program is outpacing capacity. Photo: Daniel Sangjib Min
An Innovative Solution for the Future of Pharmacy
Virginia is transforming into a hub of pharmaceutical research and manufacturing, and the VCU School of Pharmacy — which is one of the top 20 pharmacy schools in the country — is playing a critical role in training the future workforce needed for the industry to thrive. Philanthropy is helping move it all forward.
In 2025, Lilly, AstraZeneca and Merck all announced multibillion dollar investments in manufacturing facilities in Virginia. Those businesses joined a growing number of pharmaceutical manufacturing and research companies establishing a presence in the area, and the anticipated need for trained professionals is great.
We’re redefining pharmaceutical education.
K.C. Ogbonna, Pharm.D., M.S.H.A., dean of the School of Pharmacy
A year prior, the School of Pharmacy launched its B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences program to build a new pipeline for the type of professional roles that won’t require an advanced pharmaceutical degree. Today, interest in the program continues to outpace the capacity for students.
“Demand has been energetic and tremendous,” said Keith Ellis, Ph.D., the program’s director and an associate professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry. “It’s exciting to be a part of this regional renaissance and to help develop the talent of the future to meet the current needs of our profession.”
Recognizing this new academic program’s importance to VCU and to the pharmaceutical industry landscape in Virginia, the MCV Foundation Board of Trustees recently approved a special fund request for $1.35 million to support its continued growth. The funding will help meet expanded student interest and enrollment as the school expands education offerings and strengthens the pipeline for the future pharmaceutical workforce.
Students in the program will also benefit from philanthropy. Terri Hubbard Powers, a 1978 School of Pharmacy graduate, grew up in the rural town of Sedley in Southampton County, Va., an area she is especially motivated to support. When she learned about the B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences program, she recognized that the degree could offer new career paths for students from her part of the state who might not wish to pursue an advanced degree in pharmacy. She and her husband, Tom, created the Terri Hubbard Powers Path to Prosperity Scholarship for students in the new program, with a preference for students from the area where she was raised.
“As pharmacy evolves, I see the school being a crucial leader in the pharmaceutical industry,” Powers said. “This new degree opens up career paths and helps develop a workforce for the new manufacturing hubs in Virginia, which are within commuting distance for residents from my hometown.”
The school’s program and national reputation have been key ingredients for attracting investment from corporate partners too. In the past year, Haleon, which has a major research and development facility in Richmond, created the Peter J. Ramsey Scholarship to honor its longtime site leader who also served on the school’s national advisory council. The company also launched the Haleon-Commonwealth Consumer Healthcare Internship Program for Advanced Life Sciences in partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia and the School of Pharmacy. The five-year program provides paid opportunities for undergraduates in the new degree program, as well as summer internships for undergraduate and graduate students from all of Virginia’s institutions of higher education.
The chain reaction continues. School leaders have described a surge in interest from additional corporate partners who want to strengthen connections with the school due to its national reputation and unique array of programs. In addition to the new B.S. program, VCU has the country’s first and, so far, only Ph.D. program in pharmaceutical engineering.
“We’re redefining pharmaceutical education,” said K.C. Ogbonna, Pharm.D., M.S.H.A., dean of the School of Pharmacy. “We have all of the pieces and parts — the skills, the expertise, tremendous faculty, students that want to learn differently — and we also want to be able to make an impact in a meaningful way.”
If you would like to support this new program at the VCU School of Pharmacy, please contact Louie Correa, the school’s senior director of development, at 804-828-3016 or lacorrea@vcu.edu.
