To ACPHS Community,

ACPHS launched the public phase of its Discovery for Life fundraising campaign in March. The goal of this campaign, which began in July 2018, is to raise $11 million to support the education and development of students pursuing careers in pharmacy and the health sciences. 

We sought feedback from alumni, students, board members, employees, and friends of the College on what strategic initiatives to support with this fundraising campaign. Based on this collective input, the campaign’s priorities fall into three main areas: Scholarships, Student Experience and Bridges to Industry.

ACPHS has already been able help students with funds raised. Eight new scholarships were created which have supported 19 students. The College is improving the student experience by renovating gathering spaces and laboratories, and expanding access to internships, residencies, and fellowships.

The centerpiece of the Bridges to Industry initiative is the Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training (CBET), which opened in January 2021 at the Albany NanoTech Complex on Fuller Road and welcomed its first Professional Science Master’s degree students. For more information, go to https://cbet.acphs.edu/.

Since the public launch, I am pleased to announce that the College received an additional $3.25 million from two Board of Trustee members and an anonymous donor to bring donations for the Discovery for Life Campaign to nearly $11 million. To date, $4.5 million has been raised to support Bridges to Industry, $2.8 million for endowed Scholarships, and $3.7 million to improve the Student Experience.

David Stack ‘76 and Christine Stack donated $1.5 million to CBET to further advance this flagship initiative for ACPHS. To honor this incredibly generous donation, the new center will be renamed The Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training. David Stack is an ACPHS alumnus, Chair of the Discovery for Life Steering Committee, and Chairman and CEO of Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading provider of non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions. He is also the Founding Partner of Stack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercialization, marketing, and strategy firm, and Managing Director at MPM Capital, a venture capital firm focused on life sciences companies.

Walter and Michelle Borisenok also made a significant donation of $750,000 to support ACPHS’ new education and training center and the students who enroll in our Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program. The Borisenoks donated $500,000 to the upstream bioprocessing lab which will be named the Borisenok Family Foundation Upstream Laboratory in honor of their very generous donation. In addition, they donated $250,000 to establish the Borisenok Family Foundation Biomanufacturing Scholarship to support students who enroll in our PSM program. This Master’s in Biomanufacturing and Bioprocessing is a one-year program with a strong emphasis on industrial applications and an internship in the biopharmaceutical industry.  

Walter Borisenok co-founded Fortitech, Inc., in 1986, a company that develops and manufactures nutritional products for the fortification of food and pharmaceuticals. As CEO, Walter grew Fortitech into a global supplier with four business units and seven manufacturing plants worldwide. He sold the company in November 2012 to the Dutch-based life science company DSM. Michelle Borisenok, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who oversees the Borisenok Family Foundation, is known throughout the Capital Region for her steadfast support of women’s leadership and education.

The Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training will educate a workforce with the knowledge and hands-on experience to advance the biopharmaceutical industry and ensure these innovative therapeutics reach patients. We are very fortunate to have donors like the Stacks and Borisenoks who are so committed to innovation and education.

In addition to our generous donors, I also want to extend a special thank you to Vicki DiLorenzo, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, and her team for their hard work and dedication to this tremendously successful fundraising campaign for the College.

Greg Dewey

ACPHS President