What's in a Name?

The UIC College of Pharmacy is ranked the No. 1 pharmacy school in Illinois and 15th in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. The program boasts two special programs — one in urban pharmacy and the other rural pharmacy — where students are trained to address the issues specific to these communities, and “pharmacy deserts” in particular, where a lack of access to care disproportionally affects underrepresented groups.

However, when outlining the college’s success, College of Pharmacy Dean Glen Schumock emphasized that UIC Pharmacy graduates go on to lead in multiple settings, including hospital and community pharmacies as well as managed care, long term care, for the pharmaceutical industry or pharmacy companies, or government agencies and research organizations.

“What differentiates a graduate of the UIC College of Pharmacy is a deep clinical training that is not commonly received at other schools of pharmacy,” Schumock said. “And there's a reputation, really across the nation, for our graduates in terms of their abilities and how they can come into and are prepared for practice when they graduate.” He also touted the college’s world-class faculty and a robust alumni network of 11,000.

The UIC experience clearly had an impact on Herbert Retzky BS ’46 and his wife, Carol Retzky HON ’19, who emerged as the university’s largest individual philanthropic donors during their lives with more than $8 million gifted.

Herbert Retzky BS ’46, left, and his wife, Carol Retzky HON ’19.

Herbert Retzky BS ’46, left, and his wife, Carol Retzky HON ’19.

Now, the late couple’s estate has endowed an additional $36 million to the college. The gift will name the UIC College of Pharmacy as the Herbert M. and Carol H. Retzky College of Pharmacy to honor the couple’s longstanding dedication to pharmacy and transformational support.

This will be the first donor-named college at UIC and only the fourth in the University of Illinois System. Where the endowment will be designated — merit-based scholarships and career development initiatives — simultaneously aligns with the Retzkys’ passion for promoting the pharmacy profession and UIC’s student success and community engagement priorities.

Schumock characterized the late couple’s gift as “profoundly transformative” for the college and said it promises to elevate the caliber of pharmacy students attending the university.

“Above all, Herb and Carol wanted to help people and help the profession,” Schumock said. “Their gifts will help so many students and future pharmacists.”

***

Originally established independently as the Chicago College of Pharmacy in 1859, the College of Pharmacy is the oldest college in the University of Illinois system and one of the oldest colleges of pharmacy in the U.S.

In 1895, the Illinois Legislature amending the original charter for the University of Illinois paved the way for its acquisition of the Chicago College of Pharmacy and its move to the Illinois Medical District in 1915, where it has remained ever since.

In 2010 the College of Pharmacy opened a campus in Rockford, Illinois, to expand its impact outside of the city.

The Retzky’s relationship with UIC Pharmacy began with Herb marrying Carol in 1952, three years after he received his Bachelor of Science from the university.

Carol Retzky, left, and Herb Retzky during their wedding.

Carol Retzky, left, and Herb Retzky during their wedding.

Both children of pharmacists, the couple operated the pharmacy of Herb Retzky’s father on the South Side before selling that business and purchasing Hale Drugs in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood in 1957.

Throughout his career, Herb remained interested in pharmacy’s evolution; he attended a continuing education program on infectious diseases hosted by College of Pharmacy faculty for 25 consecutive years, and he served as an alumni representative on several committees at the college, including groups evaluating courses and steering curriculum.

The couple, who resided in River Forest, first donated to the College of Pharmacy in 2003, bestowing $50,000 to launch two scholarships.

This led to the establishment of the Herbert M. and Carol H. Retzky Endowed Chair in Pharmacy Practice in 2012 with a $2 million gift, which was converted into the Herbert M. and Carol H. Retzky Deanship with an additional $3 million commitment in 2016. At the time, the Retzkys’ $5 million pledge was the largest gift in the history of the college, the first deanship established at UIC, and only the third deanship in the entire University of Illinois System.

Carol Retzky, right, watches a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Herbert and Carol Retzky Simulation Center.

Carol Retzky, right, watches a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Herbert and Carol Retzky Simulation Center.

Herb Retzky passed away in 2017 at the age of 93, and Carol continued supporting the College, donating $1 million to build the Herbert and Carol Retzky Simulation Center at the college’s Wood Street location.

Then, in 2019, months before she passed away at the age of 90, Carol Retzky committed $2 million as the leading private gift to help fund a planned Drug Discovery and Cancer Research Pavilion. The couple designated UIC Pharmacy as the largest remainder beneficiary of their estate.

***

UIC School of Pharmacy flyer produced in 1905.

Carol Retzky, left, celebrating her graduation with Herb Retzky.

Herb Retzky working at his pharmacy.

Herb and Carol Retzky.

When Elaine Levin, the trustee of the Retzkys’ trust estates, first sat down with Schumock to discuss the gift, she mentioned the couple’s foremost aim was to make a transformative difference at the college.

Herb Retzky once said he and his wife “wanted to provide something that extends beyond our own time here on Earth,” and Levin believes this final, enduring gift honors their philanthropic ambitions.

“They devoted their life to pharmacy and they believed in advancing the profession,” Levin said. “Even more, they felt the College of Pharmacy at UIC was a place where they could really make a difference.”

Eighty percent of the endowment funds are earmarked for merit-based scholarships; the Retzkys’ generosity raises the amount of merit scholarships available at the college from approximately $200,000 each year to well over $1 million.

Robert A. Barish, UIC’s vice chancellor for health affairs, said the scholarships will aid the university’s pursuit to bring in the best and brightest students — a legacy with ripple effects reverberating well beyond the immediately seen.

UIC School of Pharmacy graduates.

UIC School of Pharmacy graduates.

The remaining 20%, meanwhile, will fund career development initiatives for students. This includes resources to help students enter the profession and activities to increase successful outcomes, which range from placement resources to student-alumni engagement programs exposing students to innovative careers in the profession.

The Retzkys’ impact on UIC Pharmacy, and the UIC community in general, is already felt.

Since its inception, the Retzky Simulation Center has provided hundreds of pharmacy students hands-on training in dispensing medications and counseling patients while also doubling as an events space and popular after-hours study space for students. And the Drug Discovery and Cancer Research Pavilion, which is still in development, has excited industry insiders for its thoughtful design in the service of fueling collaboration, research and the advancement of new therapies for all people.

However, funding of this size will help grow UIC Pharmacy’s emphasis on clinical training, as well as its ability to change both the lives of its students and the communities they serve. All told, 31% of UIC Pharmacy students are the first in their families to go to college. What’s more, 23% are from underrepresented minority groups and 45% are multilingual, with native speakers of 44 different languages.

Students working in a lab.

Students working in a lab.

“With the Retzky gift, we are supporting students who will go out and serve communities and help address health inequities,” UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda said.

“We are supporting research that is designed to bring innovations not just to the people who are immediately served here at UIC, but to the entire city, to the entire state, to the entire country.”

What’s in a Name?

With the help of a transformational estate gift from the Retzky estate, UIC College of Pharmacy quadrupled its merit-based scholarship pool and doubling down on its commitment to equity and clinical excellence.

Read More