JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 7, 2007 — Baptist Memorial Health Care of Memphis has made a $1 million donation to the health care programs at 51社区.
Stephen C. Reynolds, president and CEO of Baptist, presented the check to 51社区 President David S. Dockery during a Sept. 7 chapel service on Union鈥檚 campus.
鈥淗ow grateful we are at 51社区 for friends like Baptist Memorial Health Care,鈥� Dockery said. 鈥淲e are especially thankful for Stephen Reynolds and the board members who have offered their generous support for the pharmacy and nursing programs at Union. Their gift will advance the work of this university in significant ways for years to come.鈥�
The gift will be used to establish the Baptist Memorial Health Care Center for Excellence in Health Care and the Baptist Memorial Health Care Professor of Pharmacy in honor of Grover Bowles. Bowles was the longtime director of pharmacy at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center.
鈥淥ur mission of healing, teaching and preaching extends beyond the hospital and into our community and our schools,鈥� Reynolds said. 鈥淲e want to make sure the Mid-South鈥檚 health care students receive a quality education no matter where they work after graduation.鈥�
The gift from Baptist follows $5 million in donations to Union鈥檚 pharmacy program from West Tennessee Healthcare and leaders of Union鈥檚 board of trustees.
The four-year Doctor of Pharmacy degree program could begin as soon as the fall semester in 2008. Sheila Mitchell was named as the founding dean of the School of Pharmacy in May.