The School of Pharmacy is located in the Robert Blackwell Smith Building at 12th and East Clay streets. This building — named in honor of a distinguished former dean of pharmacy, former president of the Medical College of Virginia and former provost of the MCV Campus — was completed in 1984 with the help of contributions from many alumni and friends of the School of Pharmacy. Additional classrooms, offices and laboratories are located in the VCU Health Sciences Research Building and the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, both located within a few blocks of the Smith Building. The Smith Building Lobby houses the school’s Heritage Trail that displays VCU’s, MCV’s and the school’s history, as well as the history of pharmacy in Virginia.
Classes for students in pharmacy also are conducted in Sanger Hall, located between 11th and 12th streets on East Marshall Street. In conjunction with VCU Health, students receive clinical experience in the hospitals and clinics on the MCV Campus. Other facilities available for teaching include area hospitals and pharmacies. The major library holdings are in the Health Sciences Library at 12th and East Clay streets.
Location in a major health sciences center provides excellent opportunities for interdisciplinary research and access to clinical facilities. The school is well-equipped for graduate research and provides leadership to the VCU Center for Drug Discovery at the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park. The school also supports the Center for Compounding Practice and Research, the Center for Biomarker Research and Precision Medicine, and the Center for Pharmacy Practice Innovation.