Accredited just last year, USC’s College of Pharmacy aspires to be a top-10 pharmacy program. But there’s one small thing standing in its way: run-down, outdated facilities.
Big surprise there. After the slew of dilapidation we’ve seen all across campus over the years — mold in Sims House, leaky roofs on Thomas Cooper Library, sagging walls in Thomson Student Health Center — hearing about another instance of USC’s inability to upkeep its buildings is almost laughable.
But it’s a joke that’s been told far too many times. With no backup power systems, inadequate facilities for research (they’re using classrooms right now) and safety showers without drains, it’s no shock to us that the College of Pharmacy has had trouble recruiting new faculty and students and growing as an institution. And the fact that the dean spends 25 percent of his work time dealing with facilities problems instead of dedicating time to his more noble duties is downright embarrassing.
The sad part is, it’s not just the pharmacy school that has been subjected to problems with poor facilities. The law school and the journalism school, two huge parts of our university, have recently suffered similar fates. And when these individual schools suffer, the entire reputation of USC suffers.
We’re glad the new business school is flourishing, and we understand money is always a limiting factor and that USC is doing what it can with what it has. But it’s time for the university to target these issues quickly and fix them. We’re a great school as it is, but with updated infrastructure, we could be much better.