University of Colorado Recruits Minorities for Pharmacy Program

The Denver Rocky Mountain News on Feb. 25 examined the efforts of the University of Colorado to diversify its pharmacy school and boost the number of minorities working as pharmacists. The school began actively recruiting minority students to its pharmacy program in 1990 when Sam Skaggs, an area pharmacy owner, donated $1.47 million to the school, asking officials to help "diversify his profession." The school, called the Skaggs School of Pharmacy, now offers 12 pharmacy scholarships each year for "underrepresented or disadvantaged" students, up from three such scholarships in 1990. About 34% of the university's pharmacy students are from minority groups, a figure that is one of the highest among the nation's pharmacy schools, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Recruiting minorities into such programs is not always easy, the Rocky Mountain News reports, particularly because courts have typically "frowned" upon ethnic-specific scholarships. As a result, the school has branched out to recruiting "economically and educationally disadvantaged students," such as students with low-incomes or rural backgrounds. By doing so, the school has been able to recruit minorities as well. Ralph Altiere, associate dean of the CU pharmacy school, said, "You bet, it's tricky," adding that the school only spends part of its scholarship money to "target specific groups." The four-year program employs a "variety of retention and tutoring programs" to keep recruited students enrolled and graduation rates high (Scanlon, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 2/25).