[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 26 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S842-S843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING MIDWAY COLLEGE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
educational institution that has been determined to create job 
opportunities and more easily accessible pathways to attaining 
professional degrees for Kentuckians, Midway College.
  Midway College is a private school in Midway, KY, located in between 
Lexington and Frankfort. The school, established in 1847, has since 
created not only a rich tradition but a bright future for itself as 
well. Grounded in the golden rule, the school's motto is ``ama vicinum 
acte,'' Latin for ``love your neighbor in deed.'' And Midway College 
and its faculty are dedicated to living just so. The college has opened 
14 different branches across the State offering numerous disciplines 
students can choose to study and thereby diversifying the type of 
student who could potentially enroll by constructing schools in an 
array of unique locations.
  In 2009, Midway College president Dr. William B. Drake, Jr., along 
with attorney G. Chad Perry III, and his wife Judy Perry, had a vision 
to create a 15th branch of the college in a small Kentucky town. This 
new branch would be expected to not only strengthen the Commonwealth 
but the entire Nation as well. Their dream soon became a reality in 
January of 2010 when Midway College's board of trustees announced plans 
to open the Midway College School of Pharmacy in Paintsville, KY.
  The small community of Paintsville is located in Johnson County, and, 
according to President Drake, they could not have asked for a more 
perfect location for the school. The town's citizens, who strongly care 
about education, got involved early with the project and stepped 
forward to ensure that Paintsville would be the right home for the 
school. The new institute of learning will not only offer over 100 jobs 
to an area that is suffering from high unemployment rates but will 
generate around $30 million in revenue each year.
  The climate of our Nation is rapidly changing. As baby boomers age 
and are now in more medical need than ever before, Midway College is 
breaking new grounds in its attempt to combat the problem. Only four 
States have greater need of pharmacists than Kentucky, a State which 
currently has only two pharmaceutical schools. Midway seeks to provide 
an opportunity to students in the Appalachian regions of eastern 
Kentucky, in hopes that they will take their professional degree and 
return to

[[Page S843]]

their hometowns across the Commonwealth and make a difference for those 
in need.
  Eighty percent of Kentuckians are still without a college degree. The 
fight to educate citizens of Kentucky wages on, and with the help of 
forward-thinking institutions like Midway College, the future looks 
brighter than ever before. So today I would like to ask my colleagues 
in the U.S. Senate if they would join me in recognizing the faculty and 
staff of Kentucky's own Midway College.
  Mr. President, the Kentucky publication ``Discover the Power of 
Southeast Kentucky,'' published by the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of 
Commerce, recently printed an article extolling Midway College and its 
president, Dr. William B. Drake, Jr. I ask unanimous consent that said 
article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

      [From Discover the Power of Southeast Kentucky, Summer 2011]

           Midway College President Dr. William B. Drake, Jr.

       Anticipation is in the air as the new Midway College School 
     of Pharmacy prepares to greet its inaugural class. The City 
     of Paintsville, Johnson County, and people throughout the 
     region are excited about the arrival of students aspiring to 
     earn the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree.
       Five years ago, the vision of bringing a pharmacy school to 
     eastern Kentucky began taking shape in the minds of 
     Paintsville attorney G. Chad Perry III, his wife, Judy, and 
     the administration of Midway College led by Midway College 
     President Dr. William B. Drake, Jr. One by one, the people 
     whose support was needed recognized the merit of the idea and 
     got behind it. One by one the obstacles to such an ambitious 
     plan were overcome.
       In January 2010, Midway College Board of Trustees Chairman 
     James J. O'Brien, Chairman and CEO of Ashland, Inc., 
     officially announced that the Midway College School of 
     Pharmacy would open in Paintsville. Local and state 
     government officials were on hand along with a large crowd 
     gathered for the announcement. U.S. Representative Hal Rogers 
     said, ``This project will bring a hundred good paying jobs to 
     the region during a time of high unemployment rates. It also 
     builds educational resources at home to continue the mission 
     of providing quality opportunities so our best and brightest 
     students don't have to leave Kentucky for professional 
     degrees and careers.''
       In explaining why Midway College chose Paintsville as the 
     site, President Drake said, ``The citizens of this community 
     care about education and these citizens, as well as the local 
     public officials, have stepped forward at this unique time to 
     make this school happen.'' A two-million dollar campaign took 
     place in Paintsville to assist with the capital expenses of 
     building the new school. The school is expected to generate 
     more than $30 million in economic activity annually in the 
     Paintsville area.
       President Drake said the college could not ask for a more 
     enthusiastic or dedicated community than Paintsville. ``They 
     understand the value of education,'' he said. ``And it is an 
     incredibly attractive place to work, live, and earn your 
     professional degree.''
       Dr. Drake has been making weekly trips to Johnson County to 
     oversee the process which he says has been taxing but 
     worthwhile. ``It's like building a whole new culture,'' he 
     said, describing the many facets of expanding the college's 
     already sizable system of location. He called the projected 
     $20-million startup venture one of the biggest decisions ever 
     for the private college, whose roots predate the Civil War.
       Founded in 1847, Midway College has a main campus in 
     Midway, Kentucky, which is located between Frankfort and 
     Lexington, and offers coursework in 14 different locations 
     across the Commonwealth. In addition to offering in-seat 
     coursework in both the traditional and accelerated setting, 
     Midway offers classes in an online format, providing 
     additional flexibility for students to have the opportunity 
     to obtain their degree. One program unique to Midway includes 
     an online bachelor's degree in Mining Management and Safety. 
     This is one of the only programs in the country designed for 
     those working in the mining industry. Midway College also 
     offers a Masters of Business Administration and will launch a 
     Master of Arts in Teaching this fall, both of which are 
     offered in an online format.
       The new school is expected to fill a need for pharmacists 
     all across the nation. With the baby-boomer generation coming 
     into its retirement years, there is a call for pharmacists 
     not only to care for the aging populace but to replace those 
     ``boomers'' who are retiring from behind the drug counters 
     themselves. According to industry data, there are 
     approximately five applications for each opening at pharmacy 
     schools in the U.S., with even greater need in Appalachia. 
     Only four states have more difficulty than Kentucky in 
     filling pharmacists positions, and there are only two other 
     pharmacy schools in Kentucky--the University of Kentucky in 
     Lexington and the Sullivan School in Louisville.
       ``Because of the number of students that apply to pharmacy 
     schools, we could fill enrollment with students from 
     California, there are that many,'' Dr. Drake said. But, he 
     explained, there is a special emphasis on drawing students 
     from the immediate area. ``It has been the intent of those 
     who care about the school that we look first and foremost at 
     the students from Appalachia'' he said.
       ``As students graduate from our school they will meet the 
     pressing need that exists in Kentucky today for 
     pharmacists.''
       Within a year of the official announcement about the 
     opening of the school, the process was underway to select the 
     80 students who would make up the enrollment of the first 
     class. More than 430 applications were received for the 
     coveted 80 spots. To date, 25 faculty and staff members have 
     been hired with an anticipated total of approximately 100. 
     The school's faculty salaries will be in the 60th percentile 
     of pharmaceutical faculty salaries in the United States.
       When asked about the contributions of his staff, President 
     Drake said, ``Having a staff like mine, with such an 
     entrepreneurial spirit, has been like gold to me.'' The staff 
     includes Martha Jean McKenzie Wells (PhD, MsS) and Emily L. 
     Coleman (PhD, MEd) who are natives to the area. The school is 
     also honored to have Dr. Barry Bleidt taking the helm as its 
     Dean. Dr. Bleidt, who earned his undergraduate degrees in 
     Pharmacy and Environmental Geography from the University of 
     Kentucky, was formerly a founding member of Texas A&M's 
     Health Science Center College and left there as the school's 
     Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Dean of 
     Academic Affairs. He has also held prestigious positions at 
     other pharmacy schools in California, Virginia, and 
     Louisiana.
       The School of Pharmacy has a vision of expanding the scope 
     of pharmacy practice and elevating the level of care to 
     patients in all practice settings, with special emphasis on 
     eastern Kentucky and Appalachia. With that goal in mind, 
     Midway College has signed an agreement with the University of 
     Pikeville guaranteeing interviews to the top 10 students who 
     meet the academic qualifications. Similar agreements have 
     been penned between Midway and Eastern Kentucky University, 
     Big Sandy Community and Technical College, and Morehead State 
     University. These agreements not only benefit the students 
     through specific pharmaceutical instruction, but they will 
     allow all schools to share their academic resources. Hand in 
     hand with the University of Pikeville's School of Osteopathic 
     Medicine and other post-secondary institutions in the area, 
     Midway is looking to show the mountain communities the 
     diverse options that are available to them. With 80 percent 
     of Kentuckians without college degrees, the new institution 
     will offer a fresh new route, a route that's already proving 
     popular with students from the area. Fifty-five to 60 percent 
     of the incoming class is from the state, and even more from 
     adjacent mountain communities.
       In keeping with the original vision of Midway and its 
     donors, the new pharmacy school is by Kentuckians for 
     Kentuckians, strengthening the region through strong ties to 
     surrounding communities and its renewed outlook to higher 
     education.

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