Startup Manchester pharmacy school gets $35M gift

It's the largest gift in the history of the college based in North Manchester, about 30 miles west of Fort Wayne.

Indianapolis - A $35 million grant from the Lilly Endowment will help Manchester College attract faculty to its fledgling School of Pharmacy in Fort Wayne and develop a facility that the college says will be state-of-the-art.

The Indianapolis-based endowment was scheduled to announce the gift Monday. It's the largest in the history of the college based in North Manchester, about 30 miles west of Fort Wayne.

Pharmacy school Dean Philip Medon says the gift will help the college attract faculty in the high-demand field.

The school will offer its first classes in the fall of 2012. It expects to enroll 265 students.

The School of Pharmacy will be Manchester's first doctoral program and the third in Indiana offering doctorates in pharmacy.

Purdue and Butler universities also have programs.

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