Finding the right prescription: in stiff competition with the private sector for pharmacy faculty, academia often finds itself on the losing side

Black Issues in Higher Education, Nov 18, 2004 by Tracie Powell

And although steady increases have been seen, minorities are still underrepresented in pharmacy as is true with all health professions. In 2000, for which the most current data is available, African American graduates of pharmacy programs totaled 7.9 percent and 21.3 percent for Asian/Pacific Islander Americans, while Latino/Hispanic graduates comprised only 2.7 percent.

Pharmacy schools are doing a better job at attracting minority students than medical schools, Ohia says, but they still don't reflect demographics of the population. Ohia is one of a few Blacks to head schools of pharmacy in the nation.

It's not that students of color aren't interested in pharmacy, he says, it's that more out reach needs to be done to minorities at a younger age. Pharmacists also have an image problem, he adds.

"The image of a pharmacist is that of someone standing behind a counter counting pills," says Ohia, who is Nigerian. "The pharmacists we're training now do a lot more than what the public sees. They are analyzing drug therapies, taking into account the whole patient as far as drugs are concerned and they are involved in prevention of diseases. The role is evolving."

Pharmacy Schools With Black Deans

* Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dean: Dr. Henry Lewis III

* Hampton University School of Pharmacy Hampton, Va. Dean (interim): Dr. Hugh McLean

* Mercer University Southern School of Pharmacy, Atlanta Dean: Dr. H.W. "Ted" Matthews

* Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy, Houston Dean: Dr. Barbara E. Hayes

* University of Houston College of Pharmacy Dean: Dr. Sunny E. Ohia

* University of the Incarnate Word School of Pharmacy, San Antonio Dean: Dr. Arcelia Johnson-Fannin New pharmacy school will begin offering classes by Fall 2006.

* University of Toledo College of Pharmacy, Ohio Dean: Dr. Johnnie L Early II

* Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy, New Orleans Dean: Dr. Wayne Davis