Cedarville will celebrate 42 new professional pharmacy students at the white coat ceremony. The ceremony marks the first year of a pharmacy student’s graduate studies.
“It’s a welcome into the profession,” said Jeffrey Bates, the associate dean of the school of pharmacy. “They are all licensed student pharmacists. So the ceremony also helps students recognize that with the license comes great responsibility to take care of others.”
Bates said this year’s class is more diverse and has more international students. About 52% of the class did their undergraduate studies somewhere other than Cedarville. Typically about 80% of the graduate class went to undergrad at Cedarville, Bates said.
In a press release, the university states that nearly 50% of the class includes minority students or a blend of other, “non-white cultural heritages.”
“We’re really blessed to have a more diverse group of students,” Bates said. “It’s a nice blend of students who will turn into pharmacists who take care of other people.”
The speaker for the ceremony will be Jon Sprague, director of the Ohio Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Sciences.
Although students will be there in person, all outside guests are asked to watch via Cedarville’s website.
Bates said Cedarville’s pharmacy program ranked second in the country for residency placement last year.
“It is encouraging to see our students are highly sought after,” he said.
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