(Original publication: October 30, 2006)
Orangeburg Program Seeks to Fill Need For Scientists
by David Schepp, The Journal News
Local economic-development officials like to tout Rockland's pharmaceutical industry as one that can provide the county with the kinds of well-paying, high-tech jobs that many communities would envy.
Data suggest, however, that it may be too much of a good thing. Rockland's pharmaceutical employers have a chronically hard-to-fill need for chemical, plant and process engineers, according to a 2004 State of Workforce Report, produced by the Workforce Investment Board of Rockland County Inc.
"We have trouble finding qualified people," says Chris Diorio, associate director in the formulation-development group at Wyeth in Pearl River.
"You get quite a few resumes but they come from people in different industries," he says.
To help address the need, Long Island University recently moved its master's in pharmaceutics program to its campus in Orangeburg. LIU previously offered the degree in Dobbs Ferry, where Diorio earned his master's in 1994.
The decision to relocate was driven in part by a desire to be closer to the students LIU is hoping to attract, such as those already working in the pharmaceutical industry, says Professor Almas Babar.
"It's a much more convenient location to the industry," Babar says. Students who work in Rockland or New Jersey no longer need to cross the Tappan Zee Bridge. They can also keep their jobs since classes are offered in the evenings, allowing them to complete the program part time in two to three years.
Among those in the program and employed in the drug industry is Veron Browne, 24, who works at Transave Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Monmouth Junction, N.J.
The South Orange, N.J.-resident is working on his thesis and expects to graduate in May.
Browne once had hopes of going to medical school. "But that didn't really work out," says the 2004 graduate of Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire.
Driven by a desire to still pursue a career in health care, he sought other options.
Browne was drawn to the LIU program partly due to its curriculum, he says, adding that an advanced degree is also helpful when applying for promotions.
"It's very impressive on a resume when you have some type of a background like a program like this, which gives you the ins and outs of the industry itself," Browne says. He hopes to also earn a business degree some day.
Like Browne, Jogy George, 26, is seeking to advance his career at Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. George works at the drug-maker's Barr Laboratories unit in Pomona, where he helps develop various generic medicines.
Barr has a number of graduates of the LIU program who hold very good positions with the company, he says, and though his current job is challenging, George says he has similar ambitious goals.
"So I definitely know that this is a good opportunity to advance my career within the pharmaceutical industry," says the Spring Valley resident, who has a bachelor's in chemical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
With master's in hand, George could land a more challenging job within technical services, a department that works very closely with research and development.
George says he's already been offered a position in that department once he completes his degree in December 2007.
"So it's guaranteed to definitely (accelerate) your career," he says.
Babar stresses the program isn't merely for those such as Browne and George who already work in the drug industry.
"It's open to all the people who have undergraduate degrees in the basic sciences," he says.
In addition to the focus on industrial pharmacy, the Rockland campus also offers a concentration in cosmetical dermatological sciences.
The school has about 24 students enrolled in the program, although Babar would like to at least double that. With more students, the university can offer more courses, he says.
