Dear Hawkeye Pharmacy family,
Twenty-two months after taking occupancy of the College’s new home, we were finally able to come together as a College family to celebrate what is now the largest and most architecturally complex college of Pharmacy facility in the nation. “Worst-to first!” is the expression I exclaimed during the ceremony. The new state-of-the-art facility integrates spacious, technologically-advanced rooms for educational delivery; team-oriented laboratories housing highly sophisticated scientific equipment to pursue drug discovery and development; a unique sterile pharmaceutical products manufacturing enterprise; and, voluminous space to engage routinely in fellowship. Moreover, it is the first health-sciences educational facility in the country to fully integrate ‘Universal Design’ throughout its construct to meet the needs of anyone with physical limitations, a definite point of pride for Iowa Pharmacy.
The journey from concept to reality was a long and arduous one requiring uncompromising perseverance and the gracious assistance of countless individuals along the way. While it would be impossible to list all those who had a hand in making our new facility possible, there are groups that most assuredly deserve special mention. First and foremost, are the scores of pharmacists across the State who joined arm-in-arm with me as we visited legislators to advocate for capital resources. Together we visited 96 of the 99 counties and largely because of the high regard with which they are held by legislators we were successful in garnering the largest single appropriation for an educational facility in State’s history! Witnessing unanimous legislative support was a wonderful civics lesson in democracy at work and rousing recognition of the premium placed on the delivery of quality pharmaceutical care across the heartland. Of course, our ability to engage in legislative advocacy would not have been possible without the full support of University Administration and the Board of Regents.
The architectural and construction firms, OPN and Miron, are the ones appropriately credited with completion of projects. However, as we know well, it is the craftsmen and laborers whose skills are fundamentally responsible for bringing buildings to life.
And, finally, thank you to the thousands of alumni and friends of the College who generously contributed their time, talent and treasure to make this dream come true. Their dedication and unwavering support were instrumental in the construct of our wonderful new home which will serve to educate pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists for many decades to come.
On behalf of the entire College family, I extend heartfelt gratitude to all.
Don
Donald E. Letendre
Dean & Professor