POCATELLO, Idaho — Idaho State University (ISU) received a $14 million dollar gift to renovate the College of Pharmacy's 80-year-old Leonard Hall.
According to ISU, the gift is the largest one-time donation in the university's history and will go towards funding a majority of the construction project's cost.
The gift makes the ALSAM Foundation the university's largest donor, with a combined total of $26 million in donations.
The renovation will focus on replacing research labs with new, state-of-the-art technology and student learning spaces. It will also support the growing graduate programs in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences.
"This gift allows our College of Pharmacy to continue its 100-year tradition of providing a high-quality education," President Kevin Satterlee said. "As the state's designated health science university, we will continue to meet an ever-growing demand for a highly trained and skilled workforce. This will build on and foster our statewide leadership in health science education."
To recognize the history of support by the ALSAM Foundation, ISU will rename the college as the L. S. Skaggs College of Pharmacy, joining the growing list of pharmacy schools bearing the Skaggs family name.
Other universities named after the Skaggs family include the University of Utah, University of Montana, University of Colorado, University of Arizona, and University of California, San Diego.
"The ALSAM Foundation is pleased to partner with Idaho State University in the renovation of Leonard Hall," Ronny Cutshall of The ALSAM Foundation said. "The renovation will elevate the ability of the college to educate future pharmacists and to carry out medical research."
When Idaho State's pharmacy program first began in 1920, there were only three students in attendance. By 1943, the program moved out of the basement of Swanson Hall, the University's first building, into Leonard Hall.
In 2000, ISU's pharmacy program expanded to the Treasure Valley, in an effort to meet the growing statewide need for trained pharmacists. The Treasure Valley College of Pharmacy is located in the Sam and Aline Skaggs Health Science Center.
"Prospective students consider many factors when choosing a college of pharmacy, including the physical facilities," ISU College of Pharmacy Dean Walter Fitzgerald said. "State-of-the-art labs attract future students and provide space for research that betters our communities. The new space will house faculty from both pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy practice departments, and it sets the stage for continuing a program where discoveries in the lab translate into better health care for our communities. We are truly grateful to The ALSAM Foundation for this gift as we embark on the next 100 years in the College of Pharmacy."
The nearly $21 million construction project is expected to begin in early 2023, with scheduled completion in 2025.
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