ATLANTA – Bryan Rodgers, a fourth-year pharmacy student at Mercer University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, is one of 27 pharmacy students to be awarded a scholarship for the 2006-2007 academic year by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Foundation. The scholarships, totaling $45,000, were awarded at NCPA’s 108th Annual Convention and Trade Exposition recently held in Las Vegas. In addition to the scholarship amount, recipients received funds to help defray the cost of their expenses for the convention.
“These talented and deserving students represent the very best of the next generation of community pharmacists,” said Charles M. West, PD, president of the NCPA Foundation. “The foundation is pleased to be able to support their pharmacy education and professional careers.”
Rodgers, who is no stranger to community pharmacy, received his scholarship from The Partners in Pharmacy Program. “I grew up in my dad’s independent pharmacy (Model Drug Store) in Greensburg, Ky., and also worked at Rite-Aid pharmacy for four and a half years and Apothecare pharmacy for two years,” said Rodgers. “Receiving the scholarship has meant more financial support for my family.”
Rodgers, the son of Bill Rodgers, R.Ph., and Louise Rodgers of Greensburg, Ky., is currently on his fourth-year pharmacy rotation in his home state of Kentucky. He attended Elizabethtown Community College and University of Louisville to complete pre-pharmacy requirements and has received several scholarships while at Mercer, including the NCPA Foundation Presidential Scholarship (Fall 2005), Upshaw Endowed Scholarship (Fall 2005), Atlanta East Point Rotary Scholarship (Fall 2005) and the J.M. Smith Foundation Scholarship (Fall 2004). He and his wife, Sarah, have a three-year-old daughter, Victoria.
The NCPA Foundation, established in 1953 to honor former National Association of Retail Druggists Executive Secretary John W. Dargavel, is a nonprofit organization that provides educational and research support to pharmacy faculty, students and practitioners, and assists future pharmacists by providing scholarships and low-interest educational loans.
The National Community Pharmacists Association, founded in 1898 as the National Association of Retail Druggists, represents the nation’s community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 24,000 pharmacies. The nation’s independent pharmacies, independent pharmacy franchises and independent chains dispense nearly half of the nation’s retail prescription medicines.
About Mercer University and the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences:
Mercer University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has a century-long tradition of excellence and a national reputation for producing outstanding leaders in the profession of pharmacy. In September 1981, the College became the first pharmacy school in the Southeast and fifth in the nation to offer the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) as its sole professional degree. The College also offers the Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences. Pharmacists from Mercer are currently practicing in 43 states and in several foreign countries. Previously known as Southern School of Pharmacy, the College changed its name in July 2006 to better reflect additional health science offerings. Beginning in January 2008, the College will begin offering a master of medical science degree as part of its new physician assistant program.
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has 7,300 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; four regional academic centers across the state; a university press; teaching hospitals in Macon and Savannah; an educational partnership with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
