PITT SCHOOL OF PHARMACY RECEIVES LARGEST SCHOLARSHIP GIFT IN ITS HISTORY

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 17 -- The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy will receive $1 million, the largest scholarship gift in its history, from alumnus John Curran and his wife Constance. The funds will be used to establish the John P. and Constance A. Curran Pharmacy Scholarship Fund.

The Curran Scholarship will be awarded annually to the student or students who are academically qualified and demonstrate financial need. Preference will be given to students from under-represented ethnic and minority groups.

In making their gift, the Currans expressed their belief that education is the key to success.

"My time at Pitt was invaluable; it helped me in every position I ever held. Pharmacy was a great springboard for me into two different careers," John Curran said.

"Pharmacy is a great professional career, especially for women, and this scholarship will help them," Constance Curran said.

School of Pharmacy Dean Randy Juhl expressed the University's appreciation for the Currans' generosity. "The Currans' personal belief in and commitment to education are outstanding and exciting. I can't thank them enough for their dedication to the school and its students," Juhl said.

After receiving a BS in pharmacy from Fordham University, John Curran studied pharmaceutical economics at Pitt, receiving an MS in 1968 and a Ph.D. in 1971. He paid for his undergraduate and graduate education by working in community and hospital pharmacies.

"I'll never forget how wonderful it was to work in a community pharmacy," he said. "It always made me feel terrific when I could counsel and help customers."

Following positions with Pfizer, Inc. and as a Wall Street securities analyst specializing in pharmaceutical companies, he formed Curran Capital Management in 1986, where he manages an equity fund specializing in health care stocks.

Through the John P. & Constance A. Curran Charitable Foundation, the Currans support a number of philanthropic interests, including the establishment of a Communications Initiative Program for inner-city students. This program provides the salaries and benefits for four full-time communications teachers in four different New York City high schools.

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