New Griggs Pharmacy Center Dedication

“When you do things, I believe you need a reason to do them,” said Jason Griggs ’90, about his gift to establish the new Griggs Pharmacy Center, a new spacious extension of the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy in the Stark Learning Center. “My reason for pledging to renovate this wonderful space is because our family started in pharmacy,” he said. Both his great-grandfather, Alfred Griggs, and grandfather, Alfred Bowman Griggs, were pharmacists. Before he unveiled the plaque engraved with his great-grandfather’s image, Jason Griggs said he owed his success, and the success of his family, to those two gentlemen.

The dedication ceremony kicked off Homecoming Weekend, with Griggs and his family, pharmacy students and faculty, and many members of the Wilkes community, in attendance. The Center’s classrooms, labs and collaboration spaces, which were open for touring, already make an impact in enhancing the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy facilities with large classrooms, moveable seating, powered retractable screens and visual display boards. In addition, the stunning full-glass windows facing South River Street on one side and the Melberger Courtyard on the other create an airy, light-filled environment for students to learn and collaborate.

The project was partially funded through $2 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.