When thinking of disruptors in business and industry, there are some common characteristics: innovation in thinking, transformation of the status quo, and flexibility in sustaining growth are a few that come to mind.

These traits are not necessarily associated with institutions of higher education, especially ones with a 125-year history, but our vision is to be a leader in advancing, promoting and protecting human health. To be true to that mantra while educating outstanding health care professionals and scientists, the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Washington State University has officially adopted a new name.

In November 2017, the WSU Board of Regents voted to approve a change to the official name of the college, and added the words “and pharmaceutical sciences.” The name change recognizes and allows us to emphasize to the outside world that we have a vibrant presence in the pharmaceutical sciences and allows us to communicate that we not only develop practice-ready graduates who will lead tomorrow’s health care solutions, but that we are also contributing to the advancement of knowledge and discovery within pharmaceutical, clinical and applied sciences.

It represents our trending success over the last several years that has contributed to the academic and scientific communities nationally, and the Spokane and Yakima communities locally.

Within the college, we have approximately 750 professional, graduate, and post-graduate students and trainees, staff, and faculty. Our annual input into the local economy, largely though salaries paid with state funds and through research grants and gifts, is more than $20 million.

Over the past seven years, we have increased our extramural funding and the size of our graduate program five-fold or more, bringing students and faculty from around the country, indeed from around the world, adding to the diversity of our community. Together with our sister colleges on the WSU Health Sciences campus, the College of Nursing and the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, and with local support from organizations such as the Health Sciences and Services Authority of Spokane County, we are contributing to the development of an educated biosciences workforce, which is a prerequisite for attracting health and life sciences industry to the region.

Launching a second site for our professional program in Yakima, which expands access to higher education in the health professions within rural and underserved areas, is just one example of how we are improving community health, and providing adequate health care options. We are preparing health care professionals at the highest level who are specifically trained for, and want to practice in, our local communities.

Our updated name is crucial to contributing to an environment that is welcoming to industrial research, development and innovation, and aligns us with our local and regional communities for future success. 

Gary Pollack is the dean of the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, which is based at the Health Sciences campus at WSU Spokane, where he also is a professor.