$1M Gift Creates Transformational Scholarship for Wegmans School of Pharmacy

A $1 million gift to the Wegmans School of Pharmacy will create transformational opportunities for the next generation of students by providing substantial tuition assistance over the course of their academic careers.

Made possible by the generosity of Ludmilla (Lucy) P. Malmberg, a nationally renowned pharmacist, educational philanthropist, and entrepreneur, the gift will make an immediate impact for incoming students as well as seed a scholarship endowment.

“It is my belief that pharmacy is a small community that profoundly affects a large world! I am grateful for opportunity to come alongside St. John Fisher University in support of Wegmans School of Pharmacy students as they prepare to one day serve future patients and to strengthen our pharmacy profession in service to the world,” Malmberg said.

The Malmberg Pharmacy Scholar Award will be available to eligible students enrolling in the School’s Pharm.D. campus pathway beginning in fall 2023. Tuition assistance will range from $7,500 to $10,000 each year, totaling up to $40,000 across four years for each student recipient.

“This gift affords us the opportunity to create a historic scholarship program within the School.  Offering financial assistance of this significance will make a Fisher education accessible to more students,” said Dr. Christine Birnie, dean of the School.

In 2021, Malmberg made a $350,000 gift to establish the Lucy P. Malmberg Pharmacy Endowed Scholarship program, and this new gift will provide an additional $350,000 to seed the endowment. The remaining $650,000 will provide immediate scholarships to students entering the pharmacy campus program.

As co-founder and former chair of the Board of Directors of Wedgewood Pharmacy in New Jersey, Malmberg helped to transform the company from a local community pharmacy into the largest specialized compounding pharmacy in the United States. She has spent her career serving as a staunch advocate for the profession, even arguing successfully before the Supreme Court to protect the rights of licensed pharmacists in serving their patients and prescribers. She is a long-time member of several national and international pharmacy professional associations and has served on the Board of Trustees for the University of the Sciences, home to her alma mater, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.

Over the last several years, Malmberg has become a strong advocate for the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council and sharing her expertise in compounding with students through guest lectures.

Her generosity has aided Wegmans School of Pharmacy students in a number of ways. In 2021, the School created the Lucy P. Malmberg Pharmacy Student Hardship Endowed Fund, which supports students who face extraordinary financial difficulty due to unpredictable circumstances. Another gift funded the purchase of iPad technology for first-year students in the campus pathway; helping the School deliver cutting-edge coursework that prepares students to become professional pharmacists. Those followed a $100,000 gift Malmberg made to the School in 2020 to offset the cost of student travel experiences, including professional conferences and medical missions. Each of Malmberg’s gifts have been made in support of the University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, Fisher Forward.

“Lucy’s commitment to the Wegmans School of Pharmacy has been outstanding, not only in her philanthropy, but in sharing her expertise and experiences with our community,” Birnie said. “We are privileged to have her as a partner; and her legacy of giving will have a lasting impact on our students.”

For more information about the Wegmans School of Pharmacy and to register for information sessions, visit go.sjf.edu/graduate-visit.