It’s a story as old as time in Northeast Tennessee, one of the community rallying together in support of a common goal to improve the lives of those in this region and beyond.
With a dire need for pharmacists in the early 2000s, the establishment of ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy in 2005 is a success story that can be largely attributed to the support received
from the community – support from donors big and small, including the late Bill Gatton, after whom the college is named, as well as elected officials who fought to make
it a reality.
Without available funds from the state, the financial burden of establishing a brand-new college of pharmacy fell to the community. It was a challenge, to be sure, but one the people of Northeast Tennessee were certainly up for.
Dr. Larry Calhoun, the college’s first Dean and one of the key players in the college’s founding, recalled former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen issuing a challenge to raise $5 million in private funding for the school in three months.
“This community raised $5 million and passed that goal in 58 days,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun said the idea for a local college of pharmacy began with Guy Wilson, a local pharmacist who helped plant the seed for the college with university leadership, recognizing the growing need for trained pharmacists in the region amid a nationwide pharmacist shortage. Dr. Paul E. Stanton, Jr., President of the university at that time and now President Emeritus, saw the need and championed the cause for the pharmacy school at ETSU.
Two decades later, the college has firmly established itself as a premier institution for pharmacy training in Appalachia, preparing progressive, team-oriented pharmacists with a focus on rural and underserved communities.
It’s a mission that continues to drive the college today – one that’s led to national awards in service, scholastic achievement, and clinical training, as well as elite student outcomes, highlighted by the college’s Class of 2023 ranking second in the nation for its licensure exam pass rate.
In 2023, a new chapter in the college’s story was written when it received state funding for the first time, funding that helped make pharmacy education more accessible in Appalachia.
It’s one of the many ways the college has gone the extra mile to enhance and improve the student experience, efforts that have earned the college high praise from alumni.
In 2024, 97% of the Class of 2024 and 100% of alumni who responded to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s (AACP) Alumni and Graduating Student Survey said they would choose the college again.
Both inside and outside of the classroom, the college sets its students up for success with experienced faculty, a cutting-edge curriculum, and a number of student leadership opportunities.
That includes its highly decorated American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists Operation Substance Use Disorders Committee, which has been recognized either regionally or nationally in each of the past 11 years. Since 2013, the college’s Drug Take Back efforts have yielded more than 12,500 pounds of pharmaceutical waste, including more than 500 pounds of controlled substances, thanks in part to students’ work.
At its foundation, the college is committed to serving the community – a commitment that was recognized in 2022 when the AACP presented ETSU with the prestigious Lawrence C. Weaver Transformative Community Service Award. Each year, the award is presented to one college or school of pharmacy across the United States demonstrating a major institutional commitment to addressing unmet community needs through education, practice, and research.
“This is a tremendous honor to join the ranks of elite pharmacy schools across the country that have earned this award for service,” Dean Dr. Debbie Byrd said at the time. “Our student pharmacists and faculty serve our community and make a positive impact year-round on patients in some of the most rural and underserved areas of Appalachia. I am proud that our service-oriented college — having been founded only since 2005 — has become a nationally recognized presence. I am excited to see where we grow from here.”
Gatton College of Pharmacy earned the award thanks to its wide-ranging community service activities, which included the administration of tens of thousands of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.
Last year, the college’s Greater Appalachian Transformation Effort (GATE) was also awarded the 2024 Flip the Pharmacy Team of the Year Award from the National Community Pharmacy Association.
GATE was one of several teams across the country selected to participate in the Flip the Pharmacy initiative, which was established in 2019 to help equip community pharmacies across the country with the tools, resources, and coaching they need to adapt from point-in-time, prescription-level care processes to outcomes-based, patient-level care models.
While the grant funding for Flip the Pharmacy ended in 2024, the program’s impact will continue to be felt across the region for years to come.
“The success of this program is due to the hard work of our partner pharmacies who together envision a new frontier for community-based pharmacy practice. Their willingness to challenge the status quo of health care is opening new doors for pharmacist-provided patient care services,” said GATE’s Lead Coach Dr. Jessica Robinson, an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and graduate of ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy in 2017.
By Jonathan Roberts and Stephen Woodward | Photos by Ron Campbell, Tim Slep, Larry Smith, and Stacy Anderson
Read more incredible stories in the Winter 2025 Edition of ETSU Today. #BucsGoBeyond
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