TAMIU, A&M Rangel College of Pharmacy Launch Cooperative Pharmacy Program
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Dec 27, 2016, Comments Off
Courtesy Steve Harmon,
(Laredo, Texas)-Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) and the Texas A&M University Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) focused on the development of a TAMIU Cooperative Pharmacy Program.
The MOA was signed in brief ceremonies Tuesday at TAMIU’s Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library.
TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz said the innovative MOA is aimed at leading to the successful admission of TAMIU students into the Rangel College of Pharmacy.
“This visionary MOA establishes and maintains an academic program articulation, promotes the successful admission of TAMIU students who apply for admission through a 3+3+1 Cooperative Pharmacy Program and facilitates access to professional education in the region by providing acceptable course credit equivalencies. We are excited about working with our colleagues at the College of Pharmacy as we bring this new opportunity forward for our students,” Dr. Arenaz said.
Dr. Indra K. Reddy, founding dean and professor of the Rangel College, said the initiative is a win-win-win.
“What’s unique about this program is that it’s a three-way win. TAMIU attracts the best and brightest students into the Cooperative Pharmacy Program, the Rangel College partners with the students for their education in Kingsville for three years, and then Laredo receives them back in a community partnership that advances the quality of health care here — truly a win-win-win,” Dr. Veddy said.
The Cooperative Pharmacy Program is a joint program that selects highly motivated high school seniors who will be conditionally admitted to the TAMIU Cooperative Pharmacy Program, completing an 81-hour pre-pharmacy program at TAMIU. After completing their third year in Kingsville, the students will return to complete their fourth year in Laredo.
These students will be eligible to apply for admission into the Doctor of Pharmacy Program at Rangel College of Pharmacy in their junior year upon successful completion of the pre-pharmacy curriculum and meeting the requirements for College of Pharmacy admission.
Arenaz said that successful Doctor of Pharmacy graduates would have remarkable employment opportunities, especially in the South Texas area.
“Recent research shows the population-to-pharmacist ratio in South Texas is 1,700 to 1, about 32 percent higher than the statewide ratio…so graduates would do well to return and address the shortage here at home,” he observed.
Members of the College of Pharmacy’s Executive Committee joined Dr. Reddy and included Mary L. Chavez, Pharm.D. professor and chair of Pharmacy Practice, and interim vice dean, Dr. Juan Bustamante, assistant professor of Pharmacy Science and interim director of admissions, and Ramey A. Benfield, MBA, MS, assistant dean for Finance & Administration.
The Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, located on the Texas A&M University-Kingsville campus, opened its doors to students in 2006, and has graduated six cohorts of students. Today, 42 percent of the college’s graduates have returned to South Texas to help underserved populations. It is ranked in the Top 50 for pharmacy programs in the country, according to recentUS News and World Report rankings.
The late Irma Lerma Rangel, a long-time Texas State Representative from the 43rd District, served from 1977 until her death in 2003. An activist, educator and lawyer, she helped secure $460 million for the South Texas Border Initiative. In her last legislative session, Representative Rangel passed a bill creating the first professional school in South Texas, the Texas A&M Health Science Center – College of Pharmacy that would bear her name.
Additional information about the TAMIU Cooperative Pharmacy Program will be available after the start of the Spring semester, Jan. 17, at TAMIU from the Office of the Provost at 956.326. 2240.
