Monash University, Parkville Campus

Infobox_University


name = Victorian College of Pharmacy
established = 1881
type = Public
dean = Professor Bill Charman
city = Parkville
state = Victoria
country = Australia
affiliations = Monash University
students = 1,100
staff = 140
campus = Urban
website= [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/ www.pharm.monash.edu.au]

Monash University, Parkville campus is a campus of Monash University, located in Parkville, Victoria, Australia. It is a centre of research and teaching in the fields of pharmaceuticals and medicinal chemistry. It is particularly well known for its research in drug development and formulation science, [ [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/ Monash University Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ] ] including the discovery and development of the world's first successful anti-influenza drug, Relenza. [ [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/125/history-book.html Capturing the history of the Victorian College of Pharmacy ] ] The campus is made up of 4 buildings, the latest one being first occupied in 2007. The newest, fourth building is primarily a research building, to complement the campuse's strong research background. The campus is situated on Royal Parade in the suburb of Parkville, around 2km north of the Melbourne CBD. Royal Parade is home to a number of other research institutions, including the University of Melbourne, the CSIRO's Division of Health Sciences and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Pharmaceutical company CSL Limited is also based in Parkville.

The campus offers courses in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science. It requires high ENTER scores from Year 12 applicants, as the degrees are high demand courses. Students can also take simultaneous degrees in commerce or engineering at Monash University's Clayton Campus. The campus also offers postgraduate degrees by coursework or research, from graduate diploma through to PhD level.

The campus currently has around 1100 students and around 140 staff. It is planning to expand its teaching to offer a Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University's Malaysia campus, which will commence in 2008. [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/faculty/vcp-operationalplan.pdf] [ [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/125/stories/pharmacyinmalaysia.html 125 stories for 125 years ] ] The campus is also exploring the possibilities of developing postgraduate pharmacy education at the University's South Africa campus.

The official faculty of pharmacy colour is a shade of light green.

Monash University, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is ranked as the second best School of Pharmacy in the world, after the top scorer, the University of Southern California in the United States of America.

The current Dean of the College is Professor Bill Charman. [ [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/departments/pharmaceutics/staff/wncharman.html William N. Charman ] ]

History

Monash University Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, previously known as The Victorian College of Pharmacy, is one of the oldest educational institutions in Australia. It was founded in 1881 as the School of the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria. After being housed in various places in Melbourne, it moved to its present location in 1960. The move to Parkville was largely funded by the massive private donation of £25,000 by David Cossar. [ [http://www.monash.edu.au/news/monashmemo/stories/20071107/did-you-know.html Did you know - (Monash Memo, 7 November 2007) ] ] At the time, this was the largest single donation to a pharmacy school in Australian history. [ [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/foundation/cossar-club-launch.html Cossar Club launched in style - Wednesday 31 October ] ] In its early years, the College was essentially run as a private institution, with the majority of its funding coming from tuition fees and the donations of benefactors. In 1967, the College reached an agreement with the Federal and State governments for it to receive government financial assistance. In 1974, fees for tertiary education in Australia were abolished, meaning that funding for the College began to be sourced primarily from the Federal Government.

After the introduction of the unified national system of higher education in 1988, known as the Dawkins reforms, it was clear that the College had to combine with a university. Negotiations were started with University of Melbourne, which was seen as the obvious partner, given their close proximity. However, these negotiations collapsed in 1990. The College then began discussions with Monash University, which were successful. The transfer was finalised on 1 July 1992 and became the Faculty of Pharmacy of Monash University. It celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2006. In August 2008, the Victorian College of Pharmacy underwent a name change to reflect its position within Monash, to the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. [ [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/news/name-change.html] ]

Courses

Domestic students must apply through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre to be considered entrance into the undergraduate degrees at Monash University.

Undergraduate

*Bachelor of Pharmacy - 4 years full time
*Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science (replaces BMedChem and BFormSci) - 3 years full time
*Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science/Bachelor of Engineering (conducted at Parkville and Clayton campuses) - 5 years full time
*Bachelor of Pharmacy/Bachelor of Commerce (conducted at Parkville and Clayton campuses) - 6 years full time

*Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry (no new intakes, being phased out) - 3 years full time
*Bachelor of Formulation Science (no new intakes, being phased out) - 3 years full time

Postgraduate

*PhD
*Master in Clinical Pharmacy
*Wound Care
*Master of Pharmaceutical Science

Deans and Directors

*John Kruse (1882-1885)
*Cuthbert Blackett (1886) (acting)
*Alfred H. Jackson (1886-1889)
*Sidney Plowman (1890-1891)
*A.T.S. ‘Stan’ Sissons (1920-1962)
*Nigel Manning (1963-1978)
*Geoffrey Vaughan (1979-1987)
*Robert Burnet (1987) (acting)
*Colin Raper (1987) (acting)
*Tom R. Watson (1988-1991)
*Colin Chapman (1991-2006)
*Bill Charman (2007-)

Structure

In teaching, the campus now incorporates:

*Department of Medicinal Chemistry
*Department of Pharmaceutical Biology and Pharmacology
*Department of Pharmaceutics
*Department of Pharmacy Practice

The Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) was set up in 2008 to focus on the research aspects within the faculty. The research activities are based on three key discipline-based themes including:
*Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Action
*Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation
*Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics

In early 2009, a fourth theme known as Drug Discovery Biology, will be included to the MIPS based themes, based on a joint venture between the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Parkville campus, and the Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences based at the Clayton campus.

Notable alumni

The campus has produced a number of graduates who have become leaders in pharmaceutical and health sciences. Additionally, the campuse's alumni includes graduates who have become well-known in fields outside of science, including many politicians and senior public servants, [ [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/125/stories/politicians.html 125 stories for 125 years ] ] and national leaders such as Weary Dunlop.

External links

* [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/125/history.html History of the Victorian College of Pharmacy]
* [http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/ Monash University Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences web site]

References

Books

*Janette Bomford, "Victorian College of Pharmacy: 125 years of history, 1881-2006"
*H.V. Feehan, "Birth of the Victorian College of Pharmacy"
*Louise Gray and Karen Stephens, "Victorian College of Pharmacy: 125 stories for 125 years, 1881-2006"
*Geoffrey Hutton, "The Victorian College of Pharmacy: an observer's view"
*Victorian College of Pharmacy, "The Search for a partner : a history of the amalgamation of the Victorian College of Pharmacy and Monash University"