The dean of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy called the release Friday of $33 million for the school to construct a permanent building “a great day for the college, a great day for the state and probably even a greater day for the whole Pacific region.”
John Pezzuto, who helped launch the pharmacy school at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 2006, said the release of funds approved earlier this year by the state Legislature was the result of “a massive group effort from the college, the community, and mostly the state Legislature working with us and the governor.”
Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui, as acting governor, announced the release of funding for the 35,000-square-foot instructional and research facility.
“This facility will provide the space needed for students and faculty to learn and discover the wonders of science,” Tsutsui said in a statement. “I am confident that achievements made in this building will benefit the Big Island community, the state of Hawaii and the world.”
In a separate statement, Gov. Neil Abercrombie said the pharmacy school “remained steadfast and focused on providing a strong intellectual and economical environment” even during controversial times for the university.
“Construction of this building will secure the future of the college and continuously benefit the citizens of our State. I am pleased to say this is one of the greatest transformations to have come to fruition during my term in office,” he said.
Jerry Chang, UH-Hilo’s director of university relations, said Friday a ground breaking and blessing ceremony is tentatively set for Nov. 17.
“We’re very pleased that the governor has released these funds. We’ve been waiting all these years and we’re looking forward to building it and moving in,” Chang said.
He said a request for bids from contractors hasn’t yet been issued.
It took several years and downscaling of original plans before the Legislature approved funds for the building’s construction. It also took a finding last year by the American Council of Pharmacy Education that the school was in noncompliance with its specific standard regarding having a permanent home. The school was given another chance to find funding this year, with an understanding if it failed the pharmacy program’s accreditation would be put on probation.
Pezzuto said an accreditation review team will visit the campus next week “so the timing, really, couldn’t be more appropriate.” Earlier this year, he said if the school was put on probation by ACPE, it would represent “the beginning of the end.”
“We’ll be able to tell them next week that we have the money secured, we have a plan to move forward with construction,” Pezzuto said Friday. “We think that occupancy won’t happen until about August of ’17, so we’ll have to explain to them how we’re gonna stay in compliance in the interim. But certainly, I’m sure it will be a very positive thing when they see the money’s in place and we’re moving ahead.”
The building, which will be built on the mauka end of the school’s campus, also will provide the community with meeting and banquet space, Pezzuto said.
“Basically, the way the first floor is designed would have two rooms adjacent to each other, each one capable of holding 120 students. Those will be connected to a lanai. And that area can be opened into one large area, if need be. So when it’s opened up, it should be able to hold about 350,” he said. “With this design, we’ll be maintaining our current facilities and this building will be immediately adjacent to that. We’ll still have offices in the current facilities, but this new building will have state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, primarily on the second floor.”
Pezzuto, the school’s founding dean, announced in June he’s resigning his post at the end of the year, and has accepted a position as a professor and dean at the Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Long Island University in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“It’s good for me to know that the future of this college is secure,” he said Friday.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.