School of Pharmacy Students Place in Blueprint Mississippi Challenge

photo courtesy of UM School of Pharmacy

The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy students placed second in the Blueprint Mississippi Social Business Challenge.

Blueprint Mississippi is Mississippi Economic Council’s long-term economic development plan for the state. It is an independent cooperative established 2012. In partnership with the public universities within the state Blueprint issued a challenge to the universities students to brainstorm creative solutions with a business plan to ameliorate any of Mississippi’s significant issues.

The University of Mississippi team, composed of School of Pharmacy students and a faculty adviser, created a business plan of establishing in-house pharmacies in rural Mississippi. These in-house clinics are a solution to those who are not able to access medication easily as well as reducing the number of those who do not keep track of their medications of which the rates are at peak of 30 percent in Mississippi.

The six-members team placed second at the Blueprint Mississippi Social Business Challenge, behind Mississippi Valley State University team who created a business plan to have academic support centers within local Walmarts for young students in grades third through eighth.

The Mississippi Valley State University team developed a plan to create within the local Walmart an academic support center, The Learning Center at Walmart. MVSU students would serve as volunteers who would assist third through eighth grade students with homework, time management, note-taking and test-taking.

Blueprint Mississippi has nine goals that it asked the university students to aim for during the social business challenge. They are as followed: increase educational achievement of Mississippians; cultivate a more robust workforce in Mississippi; strengthen and expand Mississippi economy; promote health care as an economic driver; support Mississippi’s creative economy; continually develop the infrastructure for a competitive economy; increase availability of financial capital; cultivate diversity, community cooperation and racial reconciliation; and improve communication and coordination among public, private and non-profit leaders.

For more information visit Blueprint Mississippi’s website.

Callie Daniels is a staff writer for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at callie.daniels@hottytoddy.com.