University of Tennessee's pharmacy school receives $4.5 million donation

MEMPHIS, Tenn. A pharmacy school in the Volunteer State has received a $4.5 million donation from the Plough Foundation.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy in Memphis, Tenn., received the donation to establish the Plough Center for Sterile Drug Delivery Systems, a research center of more than 5,800 sq. ft. in the UT College of Pharmacy building, currently under construction. The Plough Center will be used to teach and train pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and pharmaceutical and biotech industry employees.

The Plough Foundation takes its name from Abe Plough, a Memphis-area entrepreneur who in 1908 founded the drug company that would merge with Schering Corp. in 1971 to become Schering-Plough Corp., which itself was recently acquired by Merck & Co.

“We appreciate this extremely generous grant and the synergistic partnership that it symbolizes,” UT College of Pharmacy dean Dick Gourley said in a statement. “This funding will allow both of our organizations to compound the impact of our accomplishments for the benefit of our students, industry professionals and regulators, and the greater Memphis community.”