The University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy is celebrating its grand opening on August 10th at 1:00 p.m. at its campus at the Buchanan County Technology Park just north of Grundy on Route 83.

Guest speakers include U. S. Senator George Allen, Congressman Rick Boucher, and former attorney general Jerry Kilgore. Speakers from the College of Pharmacy will be Frank Kilgore, the program presenter and chairman of the University of Appalachia’s Board of Trustees, and Dr. Edgar Gonzalez, President of the University of Appalachia and Dean of its college of pharmacy. Other speakers will include Roger Powers, the mayor of the town of Grundy, and Michael (Mickey) McGlothlin, a University of Appalachia Trustee, as well as representatives from the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors, the Buchanan County Industrial Development Authority, the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, and the Buchanan General Hospital.

“Our keynote speakers, Senator Allen, Congressman Boucher, and Jerry Kilgore endorsed and supported our college of pharmacy early on,“ stated Frank Kilgore. “This program would not be opening three years earlier than our first projected date of 2008 without the help of these speakers, the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors, the Buchanan County IDA and VCEDA, as well as private donors and numerous benefactors. Craig Horn of the IDA and Jonathan Belcher of VCEDA deserve special thanks for making our new campus come together too.”

The college of pharmacy will open the state’s first three-year doctorate of pharmacy degree program under the direction of Dr. Edgar Gonzalez, a longtime Virginia resident and professor of pharmacy at other institutions. Dr. Gonzalez, now a resident of Buchanan County, sees the new college as a way to enhance health care in Central Appalachia and retain the region’s brightest and best students to help face the economic and health challenges faced by the mountain region. “We will teach preventive health care in the schools, we will eventually host medical and dental outreach clinics with our partners at the Virginia School of Osteopathic medicine in Blacksburg, and we will offer related subjects, programs, and laboratory training through partnerships with several established colleges throughout the Central Appalachians. We will establish Buchanan County as a higher education venue and, along with the Appalachian School of Law, will serve students wishing to practice law, medicine, and other professional pursuits in a rural setting.”

Kilgore noted that after the speakers' presentations there will be a tour of the facility and a question and answer session with the Dean. Health care information will also be distributed. “Our goal is to persistently address our region’s numerous health care problems by targeting primary and secondary school students to help them make wise lifestyle choices," he said. "The cost in human suffering and medical bills to treat the abuse of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol must be reduced if we are to achieve the American dream of productive lives. Although our college of pharmacy will have a substantial economic development impact on Buchanan County, we will be judged by how we help our region overcome an abysmal health disparity, much of which is self-inflicted.”

Information about the grand opening may be attained by calling 276-935-4277. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

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