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Volume 6 Relation of U.B/EUB Virginia Conferences to Shenandoah University Dec. 26, 2013
of Trustees honored George Romine, long-serving trustee, by naming the new student housing area the
Romine Living Center. The plan of operation envisioned at least a decade of commercial operation,
after which the motel would be demolished and make way for future university campus building. The
2008 economic downturn affected this plan negatively, but the University has been able to maintain the
facility. Well-situated, more than 50 students live in the Conference Center portion of the motel, and
campus leaders can direct parents and others coming to the campus to the available rooms under the
commercial arrangement. Once the debt is retired on the land and building, the University will have a
very valuable and flexible site that provides easier access to Route 50 on the eastern side of Interstate 81
and to its athletic facilities.
e. Establishing Doctoral-Level Studies (1990s)
One of the most significant actions in improving the University’s reputation was the addition of
doctoral studies in Pharmacy and Musical Arts. In the early 1990s the University sought to initiate the
degrees of Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education. Research done by the
staff and consultants showed that a need existed for additional pharmacy programs in the United States,
since only 80 such programs existed and shortages of pharmacists were prominent around the country.
Many people argued that robots and mail-order companies would eliminate the need for additional
pharmacy schools, but contact with current pharmacists and researchers clearly indicated that the
demand over the next several decades for additional pharmacists would exceed the production by
existing schools by almost 80,000 jobs.
School of Pharmacy. Dr. Bernard Dunn, trustee and philanthropist at the University, showed
great interest in the possibility of starting a new school of pharmacy. His father had been a pharmacist
and had always desired to own his own pharmacy. However, his father never achieved that dream, but
his son had acquired major wealth through the sale of BDM, a defense contracting company, and
decided to honor his father and help start the new school. Dr. Dunn and his wife supported the startup of
the pharmacy school with major gifts; and, once underway, they provided a $10 million endowment for
the program. For more than a decade before his death Dr. Dunn and Ann Marie, his wife, attended all
special events at the Pharmacy school and expressed great pleasure in the accomplishments of the
program.
Another anonymous donor, who supported several expansion initiatives of the University,
provided more than $1 million for the startup of the school. Dr. Eugene White, a local pharmacist in
Berryville, was an enthusiastic supporter of the new school, and, because he was the outstanding
example of Counseling Pharmacy practice in the country, the University chose to honor him by making
a museum in the Health Professions Building that included his furniture, patient record cabinets, and
signage from his pharmacy building in Berryville. The scholarship funds that he and his wife donated to
the University annually helped many new students in the pharmacy school.
Dr. Alan McKay became the first Dean of the School of Pharmacy and, with the cooperation of
the Valley Health System, a new facility was built on the campus of the medical center. The building
was leased to the University for the new school of Pharmacy and for the expanding Nursing program.
The Health Professions Building was designed and completed in 10 months, and the pharmacy program
enrolled its first class of 70 students. Enrollment demand was great and the innovative
computer/Internet-based curriculum allowed the University to provide current pharmacists who held
bachelor’s degrees the opportunity to earn their doctorates part-time while using office based technology
and short seminars on the campus. The pharmacy program enhanced the undergraduate enrollment of
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 71
of Trustees honored George Romine, long-serving trustee, by naming the new student housing area the
Romine Living Center. The plan of operation envisioned at least a decade of commercial operation,
after which the motel would be demolished and make way for future university campus building. The
2008 economic downturn affected this plan negatively, but the University has been able to maintain the
facility. Well-situated, more than 50 students live in the Conference Center portion of the motel, and
campus leaders can direct parents and others coming to the campus to the available rooms under the
commercial arrangement. Once the debt is retired on the land and building, the University will have a
very valuable and flexible site that provides easier access to Route 50 on the eastern side of Interstate 81
and to its athletic facilities.
e. Establishing Doctoral-Level Studies (1990s)
One of the most significant actions in improving the University’s reputation was the addition of
doctoral studies in Pharmacy and Musical Arts. In the early 1990s the University sought to initiate the
degrees of Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education. Research done by the
staff and consultants showed that a need existed for additional pharmacy programs in the United States,
since only 80 such programs existed and shortages of pharmacists were prominent around the country.
Many people argued that robots and mail-order companies would eliminate the need for additional
pharmacy schools, but contact with current pharmacists and researchers clearly indicated that the
demand over the next several decades for additional pharmacists would exceed the production by
existing schools by almost 80,000 jobs.
School of Pharmacy. Dr. Bernard Dunn, trustee and philanthropist at the University, showed
great interest in the possibility of starting a new school of pharmacy. His father had been a pharmacist
and had always desired to own his own pharmacy. However, his father never achieved that dream, but
his son had acquired major wealth through the sale of BDM, a defense contracting company, and
decided to honor his father and help start the new school. Dr. Dunn and his wife supported the startup of
the pharmacy school with major gifts; and, once underway, they provided a $10 million endowment for
the program. For more than a decade before his death Dr. Dunn and Ann Marie, his wife, attended all
special events at the Pharmacy school and expressed great pleasure in the accomplishments of the
program.
Another anonymous donor, who supported several expansion initiatives of the University,
provided more than $1 million for the startup of the school. Dr. Eugene White, a local pharmacist in
Berryville, was an enthusiastic supporter of the new school, and, because he was the outstanding
example of Counseling Pharmacy practice in the country, the University chose to honor him by making
a museum in the Health Professions Building that included his furniture, patient record cabinets, and
signage from his pharmacy building in Berryville. The scholarship funds that he and his wife donated to
the University annually helped many new students in the pharmacy school.
Dr. Alan McKay became the first Dean of the School of Pharmacy and, with the cooperation of
the Valley Health System, a new facility was built on the campus of the medical center. The building
was leased to the University for the new school of Pharmacy and for the expanding Nursing program.
The Health Professions Building was designed and completed in 10 months, and the pharmacy program
enrolled its first class of 70 students. Enrollment demand was great and the innovative
computer/Internet-based curriculum allowed the University to provide current pharmacists who held
bachelor’s degrees the opportunity to earn their doctorates part-time while using office based technology
and short seminars on the campus. The pharmacy program enhanced the undergraduate enrollment of
Davis on History of S.C., 1982-2008 71
