College of Pharmacy celebrates Grand Opening with two-day party

In circumstances filled with pomp, the new MUSC College of Pharmacy facility officially opened. Two days of grand opening celebrations graced the Medical University of South Carolina campus on April 14-15, 2023, as the college thanked its supporters and welcomed the community to tour the new building.

Day One was the MUSC enterprise’s Grand Opening of all the elements that compose the renovation project that is MUSC’s largest-ever investment in education: the Colbert Library & Education Center, the new College of Pharmacy, and parts of the Basic Science Building.

The program featured Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg with MUSC Board of Trustees Chairman James Lemon, MUSC President David Cole, MUSC Provost Lisa Saladin, and MUSC College of Pharmacy Dean Philip Hall.

April 14 program video

April 14 News Center story

April 14 Post & Courier coverage

Day Two was all about the College of Pharmacy. The day began with a sold-out program for the major donors to the building, followed by lunch and student- and faculty-led tours of the new building. The college welcomed the community in an Open House from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the day's festivities were capped by alumni reunions and an alumni event at 5 Faber Street.

April 15 moments on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram

April 14-15 photo album

“Everything went splendidly,” said Dean Hall. “We had two days of gorgeous weather, and everyone was filled with excitement and emotion. Considering how many people worked so hard for so long to make this possible, it felt very humbling to be dean at such an historic time.”

The program included:

• Dean Hall recognizing the building’s debt to the deans emeriti in the audience, William Golod and Arnold Karig
• Dean Hall honoring foundational gift donors, including Michael P. Araneo, Alycia Araneo Craft, the Pharmacy Network Foundation (PNF), Charles F. Cooper ’64 and family, Barbara Harter Rippy, Heather D. Sharpe ’00, Janice Childress McCrary and family, and former faculty member Leo Brueggman
• PNF representative Jimmy Jackson giving a tribute to Peter Edwards ’65
• Founding Building Leadership Committee Chair Col. (ret.) Michael Heath praising the power of collective effort and asking all building donors of any level to stand and be recognized
• Dean Hall recognizing all the scholarship donors and Dean’s Advisory Committee members

The program also revealed breaking news with two special announcements:

• Dean Hall announced a new endowed professorship – the Vincent T. Peng, M.D. Pharmaceutical Chemistry Professorship, which was awarded to the college’s world-renowned medicinal chemist Patrick Woster, chair of drug discovery and biomedical sciences.
• Fred E. Lesh, Jr. ’71 announced that a special fundraising effort by the Classes of 1968-1972 had fully endowed the Dr. William H. Golod Endowed Scholarship Fund.

An unplanned moment turned into a program highlight when Barbara Harter Rippy, the benefactor behind the Bobby Gene ’63 and Barbara Harter Rippy Lecture Hall, asked to speak. She moved the crowd with her heartfelt gratitude to the college on behalf of her late husband’s livelihood and to the gathered donors who had made possible the new building for today’s students.