The University of Georgia’s 100-year-old College of Pharmacy will soon have a Savannah campus where students can complete the last two years of their degree under the college’s 2+2 program.
Ray Maddox, director of clinical pharmacy, research and pulmonary medicine at St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System in Savannah since 2002, has been named assistant dean at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy and clinical professor in the College’s Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy.
As assistant dean, Maddox will oversee the development of the school’s new Southeast Georgia campus in Savannah.
Currently, the 2+2 program allows graduate students to take courses
in Athens for the first two years of pharmacy school and finish their degree requirements with two years of training in one of three geographic areas — by remaining in Athens or going to satellite campuses in Augusta or Albany.
Savannah will become the program’s third satellite location, headquartered in the Heart/Lung Building at Candler Hospital. It’s tentatively scheduled to open in the fall of 2015.
Students make their site selections at the time they are admitted to pharmacy school and are guaranteed placement in that area for their third and fourth years of pharmacy practice experiences.
An advantage for students is the ability to plan their housing needs in advance for the final two years of pharmacy school. The 2+2 program also decentralizes students in their third year, giving them more and easier access to patients, more individual time with faculty and more interactions with other health profession students, said George Francisco, the college’s associate dean for academic affairs..
“Since Dr. Maddox has been affiliated with other academic institutions, he is the perfect person to meld the curriculum with the clinical training of our students in Savannah,” he said.
Maddox has directed several clinical pharmacy programs at St. Joseph’s and Candler hospitals since 1995 and served as director of Clinical Pharmacy Services and Research from 1997 to 2002.
Earlier, he spent time at Idaho State University, where he chaired the Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences department and served as director of drug information services. He was also director of Pharmaceutical Services at Emory University Hospital from 1984-87.
Maddox earned his doctor of pharmacy degree in conjunction with a clinical pharmacy residency at University of Kentucky in 1977, following a hospital pharmacy residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1973 and a B.S. in pharmacy at UGA in 1972.
ASU, SOUTH TO COLLABORATE
In related news, Armstrong State University and South University on Wednesday announced a partnership designed to help local students pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy degree without having to leave the Savannah area.
Armstrong President Linda M. Bleicken and South University President Todd Cellini signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the agreement earlier today. The agreement will give qualified Armstrong pre-pharmacy students preferred consideration during South University’s rigorous admissions process for its Doctor of Pharmacy program.
“Our goal with this partnership is to keep local talent local,” Cellini said.
Armstrong’s pre-pharmacy program provides directed advising on coursework and strategies to assist students in their bid to gain acceptance in pharmacy programs such as the one at South University. Armstrong’s pre-pharmacy program prepares students to take the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) and for admission to pharmacy school.
“We’re committed to ensuring a pathway to success for our pre-pharmacy students,” Bleicken said.
ON THE WEB
UGA College of Pharmacy — http://rx.uga.edu
Armstrong State University — www.armstrong.edu
South University — www.southuniversity.edu