Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Solidifies Academic Leadership Team for Vermont Campus

The Colchester, Vermont, campus of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has announced the hiring of its chief administrative officer, two department chairs and five additional faculty members for its fall 2009 opening for its initial 70 students.
ACPHS-Vermont will offer a four year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program; the Pharm.D. is the degree required to practice pharmacy in the U.S. The pharmacy program at ACPHS-Vermont will be the only such program in the state.
Robert Hamilton, Pharm.D., will serve as the Vermont campus’ chief administrative officer with Ron DeBellis, Pharm.D., chairing the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Stefan Balaz, Ph.D., chairing the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
“The backbone of any academic program is its faculty,” said ACPHS Dean Mehdi Boroujerdi, Ph.D. “Both our students and the surrounding community will benefit from the energy and expertise of this talented group of individuals.”
As chief administrative officer, Dr. Hamilton will be responsible for all academic, professional and community activities for the campus. Dr. Hamilton has served many roles during more than 25 years at ACPHS, including chair of the department of pharmacy practice, director of the post-baccalaureate Pharm.D. program and director of the College’s continuing professional development program. He earned his Pharm.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University.
“I am honored to have been selected as the chief administrative officer of the Vermont campus,” said Dr. Hamilton. “We look forward to graduating students who will play active roles in helping patients manage their health, and in the process, help address the existing pharmacist shortage in Vermont and throughout the Northeast.”
The Department of Pharmacy Practice, chaired by Dr. DeBellis, encompasses classroom learning in pharmacotherapy and the social and administrative sciences as well as experiential education in practice settings such as pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory care clinics, research labs and governmental agencies. Dr. DeBellis previously served as a professor and chair in the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences’ Department of Pharmacy Practice. His primary research interest is in the area of infectious disease. He received his Pharm.D. from the University of the Pacific.
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, chaired by Dr. Balaz, will provide a basic and pharmaceutical science foundation to students, preparing them for the critical evaluation of scientific problems. Dr. Balaz earned two doctorates from Comenius University in Slovakia and holds degrees in chemistry, biochemistry and pharmaceutic chemistry. Prior to joining ACPHS-Vermont, Dr. Balaz was a member of the faculty at North Dakota State University for more than ten years, where he was twice named “researcher of the year.”
The following faculty members have also been hired for ACPHS-Vermont:
• Yogendra Bhatnagar, Ph.D. – Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Brian Cowles, Pharm.D. – Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice
• Salvatore Morana, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice
• Douglas Poulter, R.Ph. - Coordinator of Experiential Education and Instructor, Pharmacy Practice
• Joanna Schwartz, Pharm.D. - Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice
Students enrolling in ACPHS-Vermont’s Pharm.D. program will have four-year undergraduate degrees or have completed all college course prerequisites prior to enrollment. An estimated 70 students are projected to enroll this fall, with the program eventually expanding to nearly 300 students when fully implemented. The main campus building will be located in Colchester’s Water Tower Hill development.
About Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Founded in 1881, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is a private, independent institution committed to the advancement of health care. The College has academic programs and research activities spanning the full spectrum of pharmacy and health sciences – from drug discovery and development to managing health outcomes. More than 1,500 ACPHS students are pursuing a wide range of career pathways in the health care field through degree programs in pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical technology and health and human sciences.