$1million gift to fund pharmacy scholarships

It is all about helping others. That's the legacy carried on by Violet Newton, who has given an additional $1 million gift to the School of Pharmacy scholarship fund that she and her late husband, Cecil, began in 1995.

The Newtons created the scholarship fund in gratitude for the outstanding education and training that Newton, who died in 1996, received at UB that led to his successful business and professional career.

Violet Newton's latest gift to The Cecil J. and Violet W. Newton Scholarship Fund brings the fund total to more than $2.1 million dollars. She thinks of the gift in terms of students helped rather than dollars given.

"Tuition is so expensive, I am wholeheartedly in favor of scholarships to help students get through school," she added.

A banker by training, Violet Newton said she and her husband created their wealth together and they donated together. "When I am able," she said, "I continue to give to causes we both cared about, because there is no such thing as having done your share."

Wayne K. Anderson, dean of the pharmacy school, praised Violet Newton's continuing generosity. "She's quite a remarkable lady who has a strong feeling for UB's pharmacy program and a passion for our students."

Anderson said she has met some of the scholarship recipients and was impressed with their character, ethics and behavior. He added that the students were equally charmed by Violet Newton and appreciative of her financial support.

Anderson said scholarships have become increasingly important for UB's pharmacy students because of the higher costs associated with the switch from a five-year to a six-year professional doctoral program. He explained that the switch was driving one of the most dramatic changes that the industry has seen, because it will produce graduates who spend far more time on patient-care management than they will on dispensing drugs.

In addition, students in the Pharm.D. program will specialize in one of four areas: ambulatory, which is community pharmacy practice; clinical, primarily hospital practice; industrial, which involves working with clinical trials in the pharmaceutical industry; and research, involving drug discovery and analysis, quality control and research in both industrial and academic settings.

The Newton scholarship fund currently provides scholarships for about 40 pharmacy students. With this additional gift, Anderson said even more students should receive scholarships, which are awarded for both need and merit.

A 1928 graduate of the UB pharmacy school, Cecil Newton spent most of his career with the Walgreen Co. as a pharmacist and store manager from 1933-78. His only time away from the company was when he served in the Special Brigade of the 532nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment of the U.S. Army from 1941-45. Newton retired from the army as a lieutenant colonel.

The Newtons lived in upstate New York and Connecticut throughout Cecil's pharmacy career, until his retirement. They moved to Florida in 1979, eventually settling in Bradenton, where Violet Newton still resides.