The College of Pharmacy (CoP) at the American University of Iraq-Baghdad (AUIB) organized its first White Coat Ceremony, celebrating the transition of its first cohort of students “from the pre-pharmacy level to professional courses.” AUIB President, Dr. Michael Mulnix, college deans, and other senior members of faculty and staff attended the ceremony.
President Mulnix gave the opening speech of “the landmark event,” commending CoP students’ “remarkable and worthy commitment to service to mankind and caring about people,” asserting that the latter quality is “key in a healthcare profession… we (as patients) want reassurance, to be comforted. We want to know that healthcare professionals would act ethically and professionally, and gain patients’ trust.” AUIB’s CoP “will be the best in the region,” President Mulnix promised, and its graduates would not only be knowledgeable and competent in their field of specialization, but they would also be “well-rounded people, with a broad general education” that would allow them to pursue as well intellectual and professional interests that fall outside of their academic specialization.
For his part, Professor Achraf Al-Faraj, Dean of AUIB’s CoP, emphasized the important role that pharmacists play in the healthcare system, commending his rapidly expanding college, whose faculty and staff members come from “10 different nationalities,” and have recently published a number of research papers in well-regarded peer-reviewed scientific journals. “We’ll be the top in the region,” Prof. Al-Faraj confidently declared, citing the international professional association memberships that his college has attained, and that would enable its graduates to proceed to Ph.D. studies in reputable universities in North America and Europe, as those “memberships are not only badges of honor,” but an attestation to the quality assurance of CoP’s teaching and research.