Non-Profit Organzation U.S. Postage PAID Permit # 254 Charleston, SC 29425
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• The SCCP Center for Medication Safety and Efficacy has been awarded South Carolina Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE) status. This Health Sciences South Carolina-supported CoEE was approved to receive $2 million in S.C. Education Lottery funds in September by the board that oversees the CoEE Program.
Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC 29425 www.sccp.sc.edu
• Searches are ongoing for three CoEE chairs: Drug Discovery, Experimental Cancer Therapeutics (ECT), and Medication Safety and Efficacy. These chairs will be filled by nationally and internationally prominent scholars and will significantly boost the college’s competitiveness. Candidates have been visiting both campuses for the Drug Discovery and the ECT chairs.
MUSC Loses Long-time Benefactor Childress With MUSC classmate and business partner, established the T. Edward Childress III ’68 and John P. O’Brien, Jr.’68 Endowed Scholarship in 1995
Finding a Place for Your Passion
I became interested in fundraising when I was an undergraduate at Furman University. While there I had the opportunity to thank the donors who made available Megan Draper so many scholarships, including mine. Their generosity and passion was overwhelming. These donors gave because of their love and commitment for the university and their desire to see their school thrive and grow. I was hooked – I knew I wanted to have a part in philanthropy. Even after being in development for seven years, I still have that same sense of awe and appreciation. I count it as a privilege to be a part of pharmacy education and healthcare here in the state of South Carolina. MUSC’s $300 million capital campaign, A Partnership of Promise, emphasizes the true sense of dedicated philanthropy. In spite of the most challenging of eco-
The Newsletter for College of Pharmacy Alumni
Spring 2009
Some of you have received an electronic quarterly update that included additional information. We would like to begin sending electronic announcements more often to keep you informed, but we need your e-mail address. If you have not received one, please make sure the appropriate alumni office has your current email address. Alumni are our biggest stakeholders and best representatives … and we want to make sure you are fully informed about things going on at the college! Keep in touch.
Friends, alumni, and even donors often tell me, “I could never ask for money.” But “the ask” isn’t really the highlight for any fundraiser. It is seeing how one person’s or one family’s generosity can impact the lives of our students, our college, and, ultimately, our future.
PHARMSC
MUSC pharmacy alumni, friends, and supporters have contributed $4.7 million to A Partnership of Promise. nomic times, the University is pleased to report that the campaign has built strong positive momentum, having raised more than $259 million as of December 31, 2008. I am proud to announce that $4.7 million of that amount has been contributed by MUSC pharmacy alumni, friends, and supporters. A Partnership of Promise, however, is just the beginning. The College is committed to improving our facilities and increasing the number of endowed scholarships and professorships in order to educate the next generation of pharmacists. But, to be successful in our efforts, we need your help. Just like our students, you, too, have a place here at MUSC. There are many opportunities for support within the college – everything from the general fund to the new building fund (including many funds in between). It is my earnest hope and desire to find a way each of you can support your area of passion within your college. With your support there is no doubt that we can build the future of pharmacy, together.
On December 9, 2008, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) lost a close friend when T. Edward Childress III, Class of 1968, died after an extended illness. He is survived by his wife, Jan Elrod Childress; two daughters, Elizabeth Covil of Easley and Brandi Childress of Greenville; a son, Zach Childress of New York, N.Y.; and a grandson, Ethan Covil of Easley. “Ed was a close friend of the College and a leader in both the field of pharmacy and in his community,” said Arnold W. Karig, MUSC campus dean of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy. “We will miss him and are grateful for the time we had with him, and for the positive impact he had on so many lives, particularly pharmacy students.” Along with John O’Brien, ’68, with whom he founded Nursing Home Consultant Pharmacy, Inc. (NHCP) in 1977, Childress established the T. Edward Childress, III, & John P. O’Brien Jr., Endowed Scholarship in 1995 to benefit pharmacy students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and a preference for long-term care pharmacy. A native of Shreveport, La., Childress grew up in the Greenville, S.C. area. After receiving his degree from the MUSC College of Pharmacy, he worked for Community Drug Store and Eckerd Drugs for a number of years before founding NHCP with
O’Brien. NHCP provided pharmaceutical services and consulting to nursing homes in South Carolina and North Carolina. The company was sold in 1995 and its present organization, Health Management Resources Inc., owns long-term care facilities in both Carolinas and Georgia.
“He was a real leader of pharmacy in South Carolina and a heck of a nice guy.” -- Peter Edwards, Class of 1968
Childress held many offices with the South Carolina Pharmacy Association (SCPhA) and 13th District Pharmaceutical Association. He was SCPhA’s Pharmacist of the year in 1993. An avid Clemson fan, his community involvement also included work with the YMCA, Kings Grove Baptist Church, and Cornerstone Bancorp, Inc. He was very active with the College, serving on the board of advisors and was past president of the MUSC college of Pharmacy Alumni Association. “He was a devout Christian and a great philanthropist to Clemson, his church and to the college through scholarships and rotations,” said Peter Edwards, a fellow alumnus from the Class of 1968 and recently retired director of external affairs for
T. Edward Childress, MUSC Class of 1968
the SCCP, MUSC campus. “He was in the nursing home consultant business and was one of the first to take students in that practice area. He was a real leader of pharmacy in South Carolina and a heck of a nice guy.” The scholarship Childress and O’Brien established provides two MUSC pharmacy students each year with an $1,800 scholarship, without which many might have had a hard time pursuing their degrees. “It takes people like him that help to advance the field of pharmacy,” said Ashley Swindle, MUSC Class of 2009. “Receiving that scholarship in my senior year really raised my morale and gave me a burst of confidence to keep working hard.”