Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Opens Vermont Satell...( COLCHESTER Vt. Aug....),Health

COLCHESTER, Vt., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Following nearly two years of planning, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences opened its Vermont Satellite Campus today, welcoming 70 students in the inaugural class. The campus, located in scenic Colchester, Vermont, is home to the only pharmacy program in the state.

The ACPHS-Vermont campus offers a four year program culminating in a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.). The Pharm.D. is the degree required to practice pharmacy in the United States. Students entering the program have completed a minimum of two years of college coursework, with prerequisites that include biology, chemistry and physics.

The members of the incoming class were selected from more than 1,200 applicants. They represent 20 states (including three students from Vermont) and 16 countries. Their average age is 25 years old.

"When we announced plans to open the campus, Vermont was one of just three states without a pharmacy program [Delaware and Alaska are the others]," said Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences President James J. Gozzo. "Now that the campus is established, we look forward to becoming an important contributor to the state's growth by helping address Vermont's existing pharmacist shortage and conducting advanced pharmaceutical and biotech research."

Research will be an important part of the teaching and learning taking place at the College. Many of the 12 ACPHS-Vermont faculty are actively pursuing grants and awards. The College has also joined the Vermont Biosciences Alliance and hosted that group's first event in June 2009. The Alliance seeks to strengthen Vermont's bioscience industry by helping facilitate collaborations among researchers in higher education, health care, government and the private sector.

Robert Hamilton, Pharm.D., will serve as the Vermont campus' Associate Dean and Chi
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