The oldest pharmacy school in the state, the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy is a globally recognized leader in education, research, and service. For more than 135 years, the school has offered an excellent and evolving curriculum, and prospective students flock to Madison for a chance to become a Badger. However, over the last four years, the school, like other top institutions, has seen a significant decline in enrollment.
Leaders at the school began devising potential plans to increase enrollment, ultimately focusing on providing financial support for prospective students, to make a pharmaceutical degree more accessible. Scholarship support is frequently the most significant reason a student chooses one institution over another. The school’s new Pharmacy Forward campaign raises scholarship money and also illustrates how flexible a career in pharmacy can be. Remarkable faculty members are transforming health care as a global hub of innovation, which is yet another draw for students looking for a career in pharmacy.
“We are confident that our new emphasis on recruitment and scholarship support through the Pharmacy Forward campaign will ensure that the school can enroll, educate, and train enough excellent pharmacists to serve the citizens of Wisconsin and beyond,” says Steve Swanson, the school’s dean.
Pharmacy Forward is vital to the school’s future and a key factor in its strategy to increase interest and enrollment. To help create momentum around the campaign, Tom McCourt ’80, of the board of visitors, suggested a dollar-for-dollar match for board members. It’s an effective way to double donors’ impact, with the dean contributing $500,000. Outright gifts are matched dollar for dollar, while estate gifts will be matched at 25 percent of the gift once it is documented so that donors can see the impact of their contributions in their lifetimes. These matches can be directed to existing scholarship funds or — as long as they are between $25,000 and $200,000 — can create a new fund. There is also an estate gift component that requires a minimum contribution of $100,000 and caps at $1 million.
Donors are stepping up for the next generation of pharmacists, researchers, and scientists in pharmacy. The campaign aims to raise $7 million in seven years and to enroll 130 new students each year. With the generous support of visionary contributors, the campaign has already reached 50 percent of its target in the last two and a half years. Further, the campaign helps donors connect with those who receive scholarship support, inspiring another generation of people who have a great affinity for the university.
“I would never have been able to attend pharmacy school without financial assistance,” says scholarship recipient Megan Ballew DPM’22. “By lessening the financial burden of pharmacy school and the stress associated with debt, I have been able to work fewer hours during the semester to focus on academics while also participating in a number of unique opportunities outside of school.”
