Walmart and Sam’s Club Donate $25,000 for Pharmacy Leadership Scholarship

By Nate Hinkel

“We greatly appreciate being given the opportunity to partner with Walmart and Sam’s Club in recognizing leadership among our students,” said Stephanie F. Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D, dean of the UAMS College of Pharmacy. “This scholarship will provide support to current and future students who work hard to gain leadership skills that they will need as they enter practice in our evolving health care environment.”

Income from the endowed fund will be awarded annually during the UAMS College of Pharmacy’s scholarship and award luncheon to an academically eligible student pharmacist who exhibits leadership skills and serves as a role model. Jessica Dickey, a second-year student from Rison, is the first recipient of the scholarship.

“We are pleased to be able to provide this financial assistance for student pharmacists at UAMS,” said Ami Bhatt, director of talent acquisitions and professional relations for health and wellness at Walmart. “We are achieving our goal of recognizing leadership among the pharmacy professionals of tomorrow.”

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 790 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.