April 7, 2020
Dear USC School of Pharmacy Community,
As the world faces a health emergency unprecedented in modern times, USC Mann has responded quickly and with great care to keep our community safe.
We have shifted to virtual tools for teaching and collaborating, moving all our courses to the web so that our more than 1,200 students can continue their training uninterrupted. Indeed, our third-year PharmD students recently presented their scholarly projects completely online. Even though this may not be the semester our students anticipated, I am inspired by their resilience and their vital role in transitioning with us to these virtual platforms.
The school is working diligently to restructure and replicate the resources for students that would normally be available on campus. These include virtual advising sessions, town hall meetings, internship and career development programming, and appointments with mental and emotional health counselors.
Yet some of our students are being challenged in ways that extend beyond their classes. This crisis is causing understandable distress, from unexpected medical bills and other financial hardships to new caregiving responsibilities. Some may even be facing food insecurity.
If you would like to help, please donate to our USC School of Pharmacy Emergency Assistance Fund. In addition, President Carol L. Folt has announced the creation of four university-wide funds to aid USC students, healthcare workers, community members and employees who are most affected by COVID-19. I am joining USC senior administrators and deans in donating part of our salaries to this important effort.
With your friendship and support, we are navigating the unprecedented and accomplishing the monumental. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to everyone at USC Mann who makes this possible.
I am also proud of the important role our alumni are playing during this crisis. As they work in hospitals, community pharmacies, clinics and other settings, they are on the front lines as essential members of the healthcare team. Other School of Pharmacy graduates are investigating vaccines, therapies and advanced diagnostic tools to stem the impact of this pandemic through their work in pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies here and abroad. Our students look forward to adding to this exemplary work.
In the meantime, I know we will continue to draw upon each other for wisdom, strength and inspiration. As a community, we are stronger together.
With best wishes for the health and wellbeing of you and your loved ones,
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