Rite Aid makes pledge to College of Pharmacy

The College of Pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences received a gift pledge from Rite Aid Friday Oct. 2, 2009. This will be the first of four installments aimed at increasing diversity within the pharmacy student population for recruiting scholarships.

Conrad Bio, Director of College Relations and Professional Recruitment, presented a check to College of Pharmacy Dean Daniel Robinson on behalf of Michele Belsey, Vice President of College Relations and Professional Recruitment for Rite Aid. Also on hand were Jesse Martinez, Vice Dean of Academic Diversity and Development, Mark Iannuzzo, Director of Student Services, and Paul Stover, Director of Development for the College of Pharmacy.

“”We recognize that training the best pharmacists moving forward is at the core of our mission,”” said Dean Robinson. “”Rite Aid’s support of pharmacy education is important to the future of the profession and to health care across the nation.””

As we work hard to expand the diversity of our student body, our current students from underrepresented minorities have become important College ambassadors in reaching out to K-12 and high school students to build our future diversity pipeline, Dean Robinson said.

“”Rite Aid historically supports the colleges of pharmacy and the communities we serve,”” said Belsey. “”We are very happy to partner with Western University College of Pharmacy on this very important initiative – direct support to students through scholarships.””

Rite Aid is the largest drugstore company on the east coast and the third largest nationwide with more than 4,800 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Rite Aid operates 603 pharmacies in California. For more information on Rite Aid and pharmacy internship opportunities visit their Web site, http://www.riteaid.com/.