New name honors major donor

The UM pharmacy school has changed its name to honor its most important benefactor.

The school now will be known as the Skaggs School of Pharmacy. The change honors L.S. Skaggs, whose many contributions have helped propel the school to its current No. 5 ranking in the nation for earning pharmacy research funding.

The change creates the first named school in UM history. Skaggs' name already graces the campus building - completed in January 1999 - that houses the pharmacy, physical therapy and psychology programs.

"It is entirely appropriate that we name our school for Mr. Skaggs," said Dean David Forbes. "The investment he and his family have made at (UM) has been instrumental in moving our program into its current position as one of the nation's top pharmacy programs."

Skaggs, through his ALSAM Foundation, recently committed $3.5 million to construct a biomedical research addition to the Skaggs Building. The gift will help meet the requirements of a $3 million challenge grant from the National Institutes of Health to add a 59,000-square-foot addition to house new interdisciplinary labs, offices and more.

In addition to recognizing his significant contributions to UM, naming the school for Skaggs acknowledges the contributions he has made to pharmacy in general - from his days living in Great Falls through his establishment of a chain of pharmacies in the Midwest and West.

Since the early 1990s, contributions to the University from Skaggs, the companies he owned and the ALSAM Foundation have totaled $11.7 million (including the recent $3.5 million gift), which prompted UM to name its pharmacy building for him. His largess allowed the school to construct a building adequate for pharmacy and physical therapy instruction, but no longer adequate for the extensive research under way at UM. Forbes said the latest Skaggs gift will allow faculty members to sustain present research levels and to compete for additional external research funding.

He said faculty in the school are studying many major, modern-day medical problems, with particular emphasis on environmental health, cardiovascular and neuroscience issues, and health issues related to bioterrorism.

Approval of the school name change came at the March meeting of the state Board of Regents, which governs the Montana University System.

The board also allowed UM's pharmacy unit to change its overall name to the College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences. It was formerly known as the School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences. The name change acknowledges the expanding role of the college and its focus on teaching, research and public service.

Within the college are the Skaggs School of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, and the School of Social Work. Contained within the Skaggs School of Pharmacy are the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Department of Pharmacy Practice. The social work and physical therapy departments have been elevated to a school within the college.

"Our scope has increased over the years so that we are now educating men and women who are full partners with the physicians in the total health and well-being of patients," Forbes said. "I am pleased to see physical therapy and social work elevated to this level, and proud that we are able to enhance the pharmacy education we have offered at this University since 1913."