Southeastern Community College took big steps forward in education this week. On Thursday morning, the school announced a partnership with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
SCC received a visit from representatives, Betsy Sleath and Jana Thompson of Eshelman, on Aug. 24 to discuss careers in pharmacy. The meeting was coordinated by local pharmacist and longtime SCC supporter Mary McNeill Hooks of Liberty Medical Specialties, Inc.
“I’m thrilled for our school to be able to work with SCC and their students on recruitment into our pharmacy school,” said Angela Kashuba, Dean of Eshelman. “A PharmD degree provides our graduates with access to over 100 different jobs. We would love to see more North Carolinians in our school and provide them with these flexible future careers. Additionally, pharmacy technicians are critical to our North Carolina workforce, and we are excited to see SCC’s expansion of their programs.”
To recruit more students into the UNC Pharmacy program, the college will partner with Sleath and Thompson to host awareness events in the community. Plans are also being made to allow students seeking a degree in the field studies to visit the UNC Pharmacy School campus.
SCC also plans to enable students to begin taking pre-pharmacy courses while in high school.
“SCC is excited about this new partnership with UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and looks forward to working with industry partners like Mrs. Mary McNeill Hooks to develop pathways for students into the pharmacy technician program at SCC and to the Eshelman School of Pharmacy,” said Dean of Nursing and Healthcare Technologies Kimberly Fine.
Pharmacy technicians are in high demand in Eastern North Carolina according to Hooks. Both colleges hope the collaboration will help build a pipeline of future employees resulting in a strong pharmacy workforce.
“Hopefully this initiative will give the students interested in becoming a pharmacist, and those students who want a career as a pharmacy technician, a boost in their career path. There is a great need for both in rural North Carolina. It is wonderful to know that our local students have this opportunity at SCC,” said Hooks.
For more on career programs at Southeastern Community College, visit www.sccnc.edu, or call Admissions at 910.788.6279.
