Binghamton University and SUNY Broome announce new agreement for pharmacy students

Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger joined with SUNY Broome Community College President Kevin Drumm on Tuesday to announce a new articulation agreement for students pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Under the agreement, eight qualified SUNY Broome students will be guaranteed acceptance into the University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS) each year, beginning in fall 2019.

“It’s always a pleasure to announce and begin a new program that will have a strong impact on our students,” Stenger said. “Many of these students will be local students from our hometown and that makes it extra special, and another exciting program at the leading edge with our brother school at SUNY Broome.

“The School of Pharmacy and Pharmacy Sciences was one of those big ideas you have when you start a presidency, but I didn’t know how big,” Stenger added. “I knew it had great potential but now it has launched into something I couldn’t have imagined and when I didn’t even know this program could have been possible.”

“Our two institutions partner on a number of projects, the most recent the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator and the Binghamton Advantage Program,” Drumm said. “This is yet another exciting partnership with our big sister, SUNY’s most sought-after university. It provides a pathway for our students who start by majoring in health sciences and liberal arts. They must meet all prerequisites and have at least a 3.0 GPA in math and science and a composite score of at least 50 on the PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test).

“SUNY Broome has the largest health sciences division of all the SUNY community colleges,” Drumm said. “Pharmacy fits right in and it’s a highly paid and growing career. I want to emphasize the incredible opportunity this is for students. Binghamton University has long been the top destination for our students and this agreement caps a long-standing tradition for both of us.”

SOPPS Founding Dean Gloria Meredith said this partnership – the first time the two institutions will offer a direct pathway to a doctoral degree program (PharmD) – is one she has thought about since the first day she arrived in Binghamton. “I’m really excited for this partnership. The quality of SUNY Broome students is really high and they’ll fill our seats with excellent credentials and abilities.

“Pharmacy is evolving and pharmacists are actually taking care of patients and providing counseling to patients,” Meredith added. “Our population is graying and there is a need for understanding medications and how they’re being used and when they should be taken. This agreement enables some of the top students at SUNY Broome to come to Binghamton University to finish a PharmD in six years. That is phenomenal. We are a school that is going to educate these students to practice at the top of their license.”

SUNY Broome Chief Academic Officer and Executive Vice President Francis Battisti likened the pathway to that of the stages of a rocket launching into space.

“SUNY Broome considers itself a launching pad for our students; for many it is a value stage in their education,” he said. “Pharmacy requires a good deal of education and SUNY Broome is the first stage. Binghamton University as the transfer college is the second stage. The new School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate program is the third stage that gives options and opportunities far closer to home than other schools. The entrance requirements are challenging and should be. Generations of students will appreciate this.”

Students who don’t meet the eligibility criteria for the guaranteed admission can still apply for admission to the school provided that they complete the prerequisite courses, achieve the minimum cumulative and math/science GPAs of 2.75, complete the PCAT and submit all required application materials by March 1 of the intended year of entry.

SUNY Broome students interested in the program can learn more about it at a Common Hour presentation at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, in Decker Health Sciences Room 213 on the SUNY Broome campus.