The multimillion dollar campaign to bring a school of pharmacy to San Antonio was accomplished with a seven-figure gift from John and Rita Feik, large donations from the Brackenridge foundation, and contributions from other friends of the University. McChesney Architects completed work on the building in the Fall of 2007. 

The official opening of the building was on October 17, 2007.  The ribbon cutting ceremony drew 450 supporters, including members of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and other benefactors to the school.  The building was blessed by San Antonio’s Archbishop Gomez and Sister Audrey O’Mahoney, CCVI.  An opening reception and tours followed a champagne toast.

The 56,000 sq.ft., 5 story building is located at the corner of Hildebrand and Devine just west of the main UIW campus. The exterior of the building is deliberately designed to be aesthetically compatible with the surrounding area. The structure takes advantage of the natural sloping terrain by placing the parking garage below grade and out of the line of sight. Major trees on the property are left in place. Xeroscaping is used in planting beds to conserve water.

Visitors are received in the lobby housed at the base of a multistory atrium with a stairway to the upper floors.  A pharmacy museum curated by Billy Walker and the Pharmacy Museum Foundation of Texas is located just off the lobby. Wonderful pieces depicting the advent of pharmacy in Texas and Mexico are displayed throughout the first floor of the building.

Directly off the atrium to the right is the student computer lab and access to a state-of-the-art, teleconference center that will serve as a venue for conferences, meetings, and other community events.  Our facility is equipped with WiFi and network connections allowing students and faculty to easily access the network or internet from any location in the building.

To accommodate prospective students and parents, the student services complex is just to the left of the atrium. Comfortable, private, offices for faculty and staff are provided in the left wing of the first floor.

The right wing of the first floor houses the clinical skills center and monitoring station. The outcomes-driven pharmaceutical care laboratory provides opportunities for multidiscipline teaching of pharmacy and other healthcare students. The center includes patient consultation rooms and private physical assessment areas. The lab will also allow the school to offer individualized pharmaceutical care to the community on a referral basis. The pleasant, private environment will enhance the patient consultation experience.

Student activities—lounge, offices for organizations, refreshment center—are located in this part of the building. Hot lunches, sandwiches, salads and drinks are available in the student lounge area by Sodexho, the UIW contractor.  Microwaves are available for home lunch warming.  Student organizations use the offices and conference rooms provided for them to plan and implement activities.

The drug information center and the library are located in the rear of the building. The majority of holdings are electronic and accessible from the Mabee Library site on the UIW main web page.  Pharmacy-only databases or journal holdings are located via Blackboard.  Print copies of books and journals are kept in the FSOP library stacks.  Student carrels with hard wire internet access are available in the library for quiet study.

The second floor of the building contains classrooms and laboratories that facilitate the delivery of instruction through numerous modalities, including small group discussion. Each 103 seat classroom has its own set of 6-8 breakout rooms. The laboratories are designed for maximum flexibility of teaching, learning, and research.

Arcelia Johnson-Fannin

Founding Dean and Professor