UA College of Pharmacy receives more than $12 million toward expansion, renovation

PHOENIX — The University of Arizona’s pharmacy school has received more than $12 million toward an expansion and renovation project, it was announced this week.

The renovations at the Skaggs Pharmaceutical Sciences Center at the UA Health Sciences on the Tuscon campus  will increase new drug discoveries, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology and expand space for teaching and research.

The $31.5 million project’s construction will take at least two years and is expected to be completed by 2020.

To complete the project, UA is still in need of $9.5 million to fulfill its current course of action.

According to a press release, the ALSAM Foundation will give the university a $10 million grant when the public donation goal is met.

“I am very grateful for the ALSAM Foundation’s transformational pledge, and I am certain that the UA community can help realize its potential,” UA President Ann Weaver Hart said in the press release.

UA is also expected to contribute $10 million.

Dean Rick G. Schnellman believes the renovation and expansion will enhance future pharmacist’s education.

“This is the space where thousands of pharmacists and scientists have received their training. It’s beyond just a laboratory,” he said in the press release.

The 31,500-square-foot Skaggs Pharmaceutical Sciences Center was built 35 years ago with the support of Utah businessman Sam Skaggs.