Diplomat founder pledges $5 million to Ferris State University College of Pharmacy

 

 

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Ferris State University on Monday announced a $5 million gift from Phil and Jocelyn Hagerman and the Hagerman Foundation, to the university’s College of Pharmacy. Hagerman is chair and CEO of Diplomat Pharmacy, based in Flint, Mich. The Hagerman gift represents the largest outright gift ever made to Ferris.

 

“This is a symbol of our commitment to education and our commitment to Ferris,” Phil Hagerman said. “We want to make sure that the pharmacy industry recognizes what an important part Ferris has been in my personal success, my family’s success and in the growth of our company, Diplomat. For myself and my wife, Jocelyn, one of the most rewarding parts of the gift is to support youth. We believe in the pharmacy profession, and we believe in students. One of the goals, for Jocelyn, I and the Hagerman Foundation, is to support education.”

 

“This is an extraordinary moment in Ferris State University’s history. As a university community, we are all very grateful to Phil and Jocelyn Hagerman, and the Hagerman Foundation, for this wonderful investment in Ferris’ College of Pharmacy, our faculty, staff and most importantly, our students,” stated David Eisler, Ferris president. “For years to come, our entire pharmacy community will enjoy the opportunity to learn and work in the Hagerman Pharmacy Building.”

 

In addition to the College of Pharmacy building being renamed in honor of the Hagerman family, this gift will fund the Hagerman Family Endowed Scholarship in Pharmacy, the Hagerman Family Pharmacy Scholarship Fund and the Hagerman Endowed Chair for Medical Informatics.

 

“As Diplomat becomes more and more innovative and the pharmacy industry continues to move into areas of informatics and analytics, I think we’ve come to recognize that academia needs to stay on that cutting edge,” Hagerman said. “By making our contribution and partnering with Ferris, we can create that same kind of innovative pathway for Ferris that Diplomat has been on and in turn, one can fuel the other.”