UNC School of Pharmacy now carries PPD founder’s name

Chapel Hill, N.C. — First came Kenan-Flagler Business School; 17 years later, came the Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

UNC Chapel Hill on Wednesday formally named its School of Pharmacy after Fred Eshelman, one of its graduates and the founder of Wilmington-based Pharmaceutical Product Development (Nasdaq: PPDI). The school is only the second “named” one at UNC, which renamed its business school as Kenan-Flagler nearly two decades ago.

The naming came after the latest in a number of gifts by Eshelman to UNC. He graduated from the pharmacy school in 1972 and went on to found PPD, an international contract research organization.

Including a $10 million gift last year, Eshelman has given some $33 million to the university.

“I am not unique among UNC pharmacy graduates,” Eshelman said in a statement. “So many have given their time, talent and resources to make this school great.”

Among his gifts are five distinguished professorships at $1 million each plus six doctorate of pharmacy scholarships and eight fellowships for graduate students.

Eshelman’s gifts also are being used to help fund 70,000 square feet of laboratory space at the new UNC Genetic Medicine Building.