Brief History of the College

The College of Pharmacy at ISU began with three students in 1920 in the basement of Swanson Hall, ISU’s first building. The College then saw several moves, to the first floor of Swanson Hall, then to Faris Hall, and to the Science Building, before settling into Leonard Hall in 1943. It is here the College continues to prepare pharmacists for their critical role in patient care today, but that’s not where the story ends.

In order to provide training for, and graduate a larger number of competent and caring pharmacists from ISU each year, the College of Pharmacy expanded its classrooms and labs to the Treasure Valley in 2000. The College now calls the Sam and Aline Skaggs Health Science Center at ISU-Meridian their home, a move that took place in 2009. Now in Meridian and Pocatello, the College of Pharmacy continued, as it still does today, to further develop a reputation for providing stellar training of pharmacists, but again, the story doesn’t end there. In 2011, faculty members at the University of Alaska, Anchorage identified a need for additional learning environments to prepare pharmacists in their state, and they asked for assistance from ISU. After years of planning and preparation, the two schools built a partnership, and students at the UAA-ISU College of Pharmacy began their coursework in 2016. Looking ever forward, while remaining grounded in our foundation of excellence, the ISU College of Pharmacy will celebrate 100 years in 2020, and the inaugural UAA-ISU class will graduate 5 pharmacists, ready to join their peers and predecessors in serving patients by providing outstanding pharmaceutical care.