College Grant Encourages African-Americans to Enter Pharmacy Field

The historically black and Catholic Xavier University College of Pharmacy has received an $8.3 million grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services to encourage more African-American students to enter the pharmacy field.

“This grant will enhance our ongoing efforts to recruit students with the capacity and skills necessary to successfully complete the pharmacy curriculum, and then help to ensure that those students are nurtured and developed by faculty members who are responsive to their needs and committed to their success,” said Kathleen Kennedy, dean of the pharmacy school and program director of the grant, according to The Times-Picayune.

The New Orleans, Louisiana, college was established in 1927 to educate African-Americans and minority students to become leaders in the field of pharmacy, according to Xavier’s website.

A 2009 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy report listed Xavier among the top 20 pharmacy schools on research funding by the National Institutes of Health.

In 2014, there were 150 students, 64% of which were female. The student body in 2014 was 38% African-American, 35% Asian, 22% white, 2% Hispanic, and 3% “other.”

The pharmacy school will also be partnering with Tuskegee’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Meharry Medical College’s dentistry and medical schools, according to The Times-Picayune.