The state will make a final decision in January on whether ETSU will be allowed to build a college of pharmacy, said Dr. Ronald Franks, dean of the Quillen College of Medicine.
Franks made the announcement Tuesday after a show-and-tell meeting with independent consultants who are expected to recommend the state either allow ETSU to build a pharmacy school or let the University of Tennessee expand its college of pharmacy to Nashville and Knoxville.
“We have a sound, strong argument [for building a pharmacy school],” Franks said. “I have no doubt that they were impressed by the quality of our health sciences.”
The competition between the schools began when ETSU president Dr. Paul Stanton announced plans to build a college of pharmacy during his state of the university address Aug. 25. Stanton said the new school would help fill a “severe scarcity of pharmacists,” especially in rural and underserved areas.
Fearing a loss of state funding, UT officials submitted a proposal to increase class size from 150 to 200 students and expand their Memphis-based pharmacy school to Nashville and Knoxville. The expansion would provide additional pharmacists across a wider area of the state.
However, Franks said ETSU doesn’t plan to use state resources for the school, but will rely instead on $16 million in private start-up funds and a higher tuition for students. Student costs will even out due to ETSU’s shorter degree matriculation time, Franks said.
Franks also said ETSU’s program will attract more pharmacists to rural communities with an underserved population, especially Southern Appalachia. “Our proposal is better suited for practicing in the rural community,” he said.
Franks said the consultants were impressed with ETSU’s health sciences programs and facilities, but are still in the early stages of research. From here, they will travel to Knoxville, then Memphis and Nashville to learn about UT’s proposals.
“[UT] will show them everything we showed them,” Franks said. Franks, along with Quillen College of Medicine faculty and several area pharmacists, laid out “everything from the demand for pharmacists” to ETSU’s success in recruiting and training students, he said.
Consultants should come up with a draft of their findings in mid-November, Franks said. From there, both universities will submit feedback, and a final recommendation will be made in January.
If all goes well for ETSU, the first class of pharmacy students could walk through the door as soon as Fall 2006. But Franks said the consultants and the state still have plenty of work to do in the meantime.
“It comes down to three things at this point,” he said. “Academics, politics and finance. We’re supportive of both proposals. We just want to do what’s in the best interests of the state.

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