Students of the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy should see shovels in the ground starting next week. ADVERTISING Students of the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy should see
Students of the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy should see shovels in the ground starting next week.
Construction on the South Ahoku Street land slated to eventually house the college’s long-awaited permanent facility will begin Monday, said Carolyn Ma, newly appointed dean of the college.
The project is estimated to take 18 months, she said, which puts it on track to begin hosting classes by fall 2018.
“We’re hopeful,” Ma said during an interview Tuesday with the Tribune-Herald. “We’re excited.”
Ma, 55, has served as interim dean for a year. She took the helm after founding dean John Pezzuto’s July 2015 departure. Last month, she was tapped to permanently fill the position, contingent on approval by the UH Board of Regents at its Sept. 22 meeting.
Ma has a long career in pharmacy.
She’s an Oahu native who worked nearly 14 years at The Queen’s Medical Center, where she helped bolster its oncology program. She’s been with UH-Hilo’s pharmacy school since its 2007 inception and she’s credited with expanding its presence on Oahu.
“I’ve realized that I like to build things,” she said. “It really speaks to me from a passion standpoint.”
Now, Ma is helping shape the new pharmacy school building. For years, the college has operated out of five temporary sites while it struggled to secure funding for a permanent facility.
Lawmakers finally authorized $33 million to fund the building in 2014, which includes $28 million in general obligation bonds and $5 million generated by UH. The $33 million — which includes $3 million in cost overruns — was scaled back several times throughout the years.
Plans also were scaled back. The 45,000-square-foot building originally was designed to include research lab space but that’s since been converted into instructional lab space, which is less expensive to build. Research no longer will take place in the new building, pharmacy school spokeswoman Maggie Morris said in an email, but in remodeled portable classrooms after the new building opens.
The project was awarded in April to Isemoto Contracting Co. for $31.3 million.
The school also is preparing for an upcoming accreditation visit in March. Ma said construction should bode well among accreditors who will see “something there” by then and “can see it’s truly going to be built.”
“In the past, I think obviously the issue has been the building,” she said. “And I’m really pleased to say by the time they come in March, we will have something over that site.”
Ma said the college as a whole is “functioning at equilibrium,” “meeting demand for pharmacists” and “solid financially.” She said she wants to continue bolstering its ties internationally and look at new areas to pursue research, for example in Hawaii’s emerging cannabis industry.
“There’s so much as far as cannabis use that’s sort of anecdotal as opposed to data driven,” she said. “… As pharmacists, we’re saying, ‘There’s a certain dose or amount that causes an effect.’ And that’s not necessarily been proven with cannabis. So, our ability to help define what those cause and effects are is really helpful.”
“We want to continue being out there in the community,” she added. “Even though we have a structure and a building, I want our community to feel like, ‘This is our pharmacy school. This is our building.’”
Ma is slated to earn $240,000 per year, an increase from the $180,000 annual salary she earned as interim dean, according to Board of Regents agenda materials. Her salary is contingent on board approval. Pezzuto earned $341,568 annually by the time he left as dean.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
