University of South Florida pharmacy students will be getting a taste of downtown life.
The USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy has moved into the USF Health Downtown building, formally opening Tuesday.
The new 30,000-square-foot facility, located in the Water Street Tampa District of downtown Tampa, will be a step forward in innovation for the school and students, said USF President Rhea Law.
“The University of South Florida’s Water Street location allows us to play a leading role in growing Tampa’s world-class medical and research district,” Law said in a press release. “Adding the Taneja College of Pharmacy to this state-of-the-art facility will provide innovative learning opportunities for our students and help our university better serve the health care needs of our region and state.”
The new space spans about one-and-a-half floors of the downtown building and features a clinical learning center, a collaborative “pitch” room, flexible learning spaces, holographic technology, and a student success wing.
Charles J. Lockwood, the executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health College of Medicine, said these components will enhance the pharmacy program.
“This new space is designed to allow for flexibility and promote innovation and entrepreneurship. It will be ground zero for the future of pharmacy,” Lockwood said.
The pillars of the program are geriatrics, pharmacogenomics, informatics and technology, and leadership. Kevin Sneed, the senior associate vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy, said that these pillars are only going to be amplified more at their new home.
“As you walk through our new physical space, with the tantalizing and stunning artistry from our fine architectural team Gresham Smith, please envision that it is in this new home where we will be developing the nation’s finest pharmacists, all prepared to eagerly embrace and master the most complicated medication modalities, research, and manufacturing that the world has ever known,” Sneed said.
Pharmacy students are also eager about their new learning environment. One fourth-year student, Joseph Diamond, said the new building is beautiful.
“All of you are the dream makers that make the dreams of the students become reality,” Diamond said. “So, on behalf of myself and all the students that will have the opportunity to use this amazing facility, both present and in the future, I would like to thank you.”
The college’s namesake, Jugal Taneja, said the new building represents a beacon of hope.
“This institution represents more than just bricks and mortar; it embodies our commitment to nurturing the minds that will shape the future of health care,” Taneja said. “Imagine the lives that will be touched by the graduates of this pharmacy college — the families who will benefit from their expertise, the communities they will serve, and the advancements in medicine that they will contribute to.”
