Ernest & Mildred Martha Mario Foundation pledges $5 million to Rutgers in support of pharmacy school

December 14, 2001

 

Ernest and Mildred Mario

NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The Rutgers Board of Governors today approved the renaming of the university's College of Pharmacy after the Ernest & Mildred Martha Mario Foundation pledged $5 million to the school, the largest gift in the college's 109-year history. The college will be known as the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy.

Ernest Mario is a 1961 pharmacy graduate.

The board also approved the creation of a new endowed chair named after John L. Colaizzi, the pharmacy school's current dean. Along with the new chair in pharmacy, the foundation's donation will support a technology fund for disciplines related to the development and production of pharmaceuticals, a post-doctoral institute for graduate fellows in industrial pharmacy, an endowment for student scholarships, and the Dean's Academic Excellence Fund.

"The university community is honored and inspired by this most generous gift," said Rutgers President Francis L. Lawrence. "The Mario Foundation's support will ensure the continued expansion of the School of Pharmacy's groundbreaking research initiatives and innovative educational programs. This gift, which embodies Ernest Mario's commitment to excellence, will enable hundreds of pharmacy students and faculty members to achieve their personal best and, in turn, provide invaluable service to the public and the health care community."

"Millie and I are very pleased to be able to support Rutgers with this gift," said Mario. "Rutgers has been a consistent leader in its contributions to the theory and practice of pharmacy for many years, a position of preeminence solidified under Dean Colaizzi's superb leadership. It's wonderful to have a school with so distinguished a reputation as the Rutgers School of Pharmacy named in my honor, and I am especially pleased that this gift will celebrate the ongoing contributions of the school to Rutgers with an endowed professorship the dean's name."

Joseph J. Seneca, university vice president for academic affairs, added, "The establishment of the John L. Colaizzi Chair in Pharmacy by the Mario Foundation represents a wonderful synergy. Both John Colaizzi and Ernest Mario have a life-long dedication to the goals and benefits of higher education and both are individuals of the highest professional standards. Each has left a lasting impression on the school, its programs, students and faculty."

The son of a janitor who grew up in a basement apartment in Clifton, N.J., Mario has enjoyed a distinguished and successful pharmaceutical career. He is currently chairman of Apothogen, Inc., a recently formed pharmaceutical development company located in North Carolina. Apothogen acquires, develops and markets targeted pharmaceutical products in underserved therapeutic categories.

Prior to assuming the chairmanship of Apothogen, Mario served as chairman and chief executive officer of the research-based pharmaceutical corporation Alza. At Alza from 1993 until June 2001, he engineered the company's transformation into an innovative and growing organization that launched a number of successful new drugs and products.

Before joining Alza, Mario was deputy chairman and chief executive officer of Glaxo Holdings, the world's second largest pharmaceutical company, where he managed the development of five new products that propelled company sales to record levels. Prior to Glaxo, Mario held several senior management positions at Squibb Corp.

"Dr. Mario is recognized throughout the pharmaceutical industry for his unmatched ability to build and enhance research capabilities that lead to new products and breakthrough discoveries," said Colaizzi. "But what I find most remarkable is that, despite his hectic schedule, Dr. Mario always has time to regularly visit our campus to meet with students and offer advice. He is an exceptional individual."

Mario has served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards and has received a number of professional honors. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Rutgers in 1992 and was inducted into the university's Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1998. He has also been a member of the Rutgers Board of Trustees and the university foundation's Board of Overseers. Mario's 1990 commencement address at Duke University garnered national media attention for its focus on the importance of ethical standards in business.

Rutgers' Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy is the only institution in New Jersey dedicated to the education and training of pharmacists. The school is widely acknowledged to be one of the most selective and competitive programs in the nation, and its faculty rank among the top pharmacy schools in the nation in terms of National Institutes of Health grants. Founded in 1892 in Newark as the New Jersey College of Pharmacy, it was incorporated into Rutgers in 1927 and moved to the Busch campus in Piscataway in 1971. The school enrolls 1,027 students in a six-year doctor of pharmacy program and its faculty direct more than 100 graduate students who are pursuing masters and doctoral degrees in a variety of fields of study. More than 60 full-time faculty members teach at the school. Since its founding, more than 4,000 individuals have graduated from the school and have assumed positions in industrial research and development, drug therapy management, pharmaceutical sales and regulatory affairs, as well as community and hospital pharmacy.

The John L. Colaizzi Chair in Pharmacy is named after the current dean, who has headed the school since 1978. During Colaizzi's tenure, he has overseen the expansion of the school, including the doubling of the size of the faculty, significant increases in research funding and enhancements to the academic programs. An accomplished administrator and researcher, Colaizzi has published more than 100 articles, papers and text book chapters. He has also been a mentor to hundreds of students and faculty members.

The Mario Foundation's donation is the latest gift to "The Rutgers Campaign: Creating the Future Today." Publicly announced in April 2001, the campaign seeks to raise $500 million in private funding to support the goals outlined in the university's strategic plan by June 30, 2004. The campaign's major fund-raising priorities include attracting and supporting top students, ensuring a superior academic program, recruiting and retaining top faculty, advancing the potential of discovery, and enriching the campus and community environments. As of November 30, 2001, $358 million in campaign donations and pledges had been secured by the university.

Established in 1766, Rutgers is America's eighth-oldest institution of higher learning and one of the nation's premier public research universities. Serving more than 50,000 students on campuses in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick/Piscataway, Rutgers offers 270 bachelor's, master's, doctoral and professional degree programs. With 29 schools and colleges and over 130 specialized research institutes, Rutgers is a research powerhouse, securing more than $220 million in research grants in 2000 and 2001.

Copyright © 2001 Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Last Update:  December 14, 2001.