A MESSAGE FROM DEAN MELCHERT
Russell B. Melchert, Ph.D.
"Throughout the year, we are constantly asking ourselves if we are progressing toward our mission and if our vision is becoming a reality."
RUSSELL B. MELCHERT, PH.D.
Dear Friends,
Thank you for taking the time to read the UMKC School of Pharmacy’s 2023 annual report. The mission of our school is to educate, innovate, discover, engage and serve to improve health. We hope to shape the future of health care and improve lives. Throughout the year, we are constantly asking ourselves if we are progressing toward our mission and if our vision is becoming a reality.
We summarize our progress each year through this annual report. After reviewing, I hope you will agree that our students, staff and faculty achieved remarkable accomplishments and made tremendous advancements toward our mission, vision and goals.
In the report, you will see examples of the outstanding opportunities we provide for our students to succeed, which ultimately lead to their graduation and placement. For our Pharm.D. graduates in 2023, high first-time pass rates on the NAPLEX, great residency match rates and high placement overall demonstrate the impact of our faculty and staff in providing highly skilled and knowledgeable pharmacists to the state and nation.
We also offer opportunities for our student pharmacists to specialize in several different areas, including research with the addition of our new fellowship program. Our student scientists who completed their doctoral degrees have produced significant national and international publications and developed innovative and potentially patentable new drug products and delivery methods.
Our faculty continue to have an impact statewide through the services they provide, the clinical outcomes they help improve and the countless lives they have touched. All the while, we continued work to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for all to succeed.
Our work would not be possible without help from those who are invested in our program. We thank the stakeholders in our school, including so many people who provide stewardship with their time, talents and/or funding to assist us in our mission. We are also grateful to our partner organizations that provide practice sites and preceptors for our experiential education, and to our academic partners, including the University of Missouri in Columbia, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Missouri System and Missouri State University in Springfield. Our stakeholders and partners help us honor our values of education, innovation and service.
Sincerely,
Russell B. Melchert, Ph.D. Dean, UMKC School of Pharmacy