Photo caption: University of Redlands President Ralph W. Kuncl, MD, Ph.D., middle, and Daniel R. Wilson, MD, Ph.D., to Kuncl’s left, during a linkage agreement ceremony Wednesday, March 7, 2018, on the WesternU campus in Pomona, California. They are flanked by other leaders from U of R and WesternU.  Photo credit: Jeff Malet, WesternU

Redlands, Ca – University of Redlands students will soon benefit from a collaboration forged this week aimed at enhancing diversity in the healthcare workforce and creating opportunities for those working toward a career in healthcare.

Leaders from the University of Redlands and Western University of Health Sciences signed and celebrated agreements on March 7, 2018 establishing programs leading to early admission for U of R undergraduate students into WesternU participating graduate programs and a first-of-its-kind linkage agreement designed to create pathways from the U of R to the WesternU College of Pharmacy.

“We are excited to create these unique and important pathways for our students to pursue graduate and doctorate work in the health sciences,” U of R President Dr. Ralph Kuncl said. “Through these partnerships, we enrich the educational experiences and opportunities for our students, and ultimately fortify the talent and diversity of tomorrow’s healthcare workforce. We hope these are the first of many innovative partnerships with WesternU.”

The linkage agreement, known as the Redlands/WesternU Pharmacy Early Assurance Program (EAP), is designed for students of the pre-health professions at Redlands who hope to matriculate as candidates for the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree at the WesternU College of Pharmacy.

“WesternU is excited about this—the first but by no means the last—linkage with our esteemed neighbor, the University of Redlands,” said WesternU President Daniel R. Wilson, MD, Ph.D. “Redlands graduates will find ours a uniquely humanistic, almost liberal arts campus culture. Great news for the region and far beyond.”