Video: UH Hilo College of Pharmacy breaks ground for new facilities

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Since the opening of the pharmacy college in 2007, four classes have graduated and the economic impact is in excess of $50 million per year statewide.

Rendering of the pharmacy building. Glass walls, red roof.
Rendering of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at UH Hilo.

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo broke ground today for permanent facilities for the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy. The event was held on campus at the construction site on South Aʻohoku Street.

Featured speakers were UH President David Lassner, Hawaiʻi County Mayor William “Billy” Kenoi, and Jennifer Sabas, former chief of staff to the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye. Chancellor Don Straney gave the welcome address.

Pharmacy students under canopy at groundbreaking.
Pharmacy students at groundbreaking. Photo courtesy of college. Click to enlarge.

“This building is symbolic of the direction UH Hilo is going, and establishes the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy as an integral part of the state of Hawaiʻi,” said Straney. “While we are extremely grateful, we are also reminded of the responsibility this trust entails.”

The Office of the Governor released $33 million for the construction of the 35,000-square-foot instructional and research facility in October.

Group with shovels.
Groundbreaking: (l-r) Rep. Clift Tsuji, Former Inouye Chief of Staff Pat DeLeon, Chancellor Emerita Rose Tseng, UH President David Lassner, Dean John Pezzuto, Former Inouye Chief of Staff Jennifer Sabas, UH Chancellor Donald Straney, Mayor Billy Kenoi, UH Regent Barry Mizuno. Photo courtesy of college.

Also attending the groundbreaking were several people who help found the college: dean of the college John Pezzuto, Chancellor Emerita Rose Tseng, former director of university relations Gerald De Mello, and Pat DeLeon, who served as chief of staff to Sen. Inouye.

The college earned full accreditation by the Accreditation Council of Pharmacy Education in 2011. In 2012, the first year the college was eligible to be evaluated in U.S. News and World Report, it was ranked as one of the top five new schools of pharmacy in the country.

Since the opening of the college in 2007, four classes have graduated and the economic impact is in excess of $50 million per year statewide. Students, faculty and staff number over 500.

–UH System press release. See also UH System News, Dec. 15, 2014: College of Pharmacy Breaks ground on new home, with video.

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