OXFORD, Miss. – After years of consistently finishing in the top five among pharmacy schools for total extramural funding, the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy is ranked No. 1 for fiscal year 2009, according to annual rankings from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.<\/p>\n
\nThe school received $33.3 million in total extramural funding, which includes $4.7 million for research funding awarded by the National Institutes of Health. All these funds are garnered for specific research and construction projects.<\/p>\n
“The School of Pharmacy has achieved a remarkable momentum over the past decade,” said Alice M. Clark, vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs. “This is the result of having a creative faculty and research staff, talented students, outstanding facilities and an environment that fosters creativity and rewards productivity”<\/p>\n
Following UM in the ranking are the University of California at San Francisco, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of North Carolina and University of Kansas. Ole Miss is the only Southeastern Conference school in the top 15 and one of only two SEC schools in the top 25. (The University of Florida came in at No. 17.)<\/p>\n
Included in the $33.3 million is funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Defense, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Health Resources and Services Administration.<\/p>\n
Receiving extramural funds from agencies such as NIH is vital to the accomplishment of the research mission and critical to the national reputation of the university and School of Pharmacy. The awards are highly competitive and are used to gauge a pharmacy school’s research program.<\/p>\n
“The No. 1 ranking for total extramural funding speaks to the extraordinary abilities of our faculty and research scientists,” said Dean Barbara G. Wells. “Just as they are dedicated to excellence in professional and graduate education, they are also deeply committed to improving the health of citizens worldwide through their basic, translational and clinical research.”<\/p>\n