Ken Coit's Dream

In 2021, Ken Coit ’67 made a $50 million gift to name the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy and set it on a path to unparalleled excellence. At the time, Coit declared it his dream to see Arizona’s pharmacy program ranked as one of the top three in the country. Since he made his transformational gift in 2021, the Coit College of Pharmacy has climbed to No. 4 in Blue Ridge Rankings for NIH funding.

As further testament to his support for the college and belief in his dream for its success, Coit made a $5 million gift this past spring that will support five new faculty members while expanding the work of the Coit Center for Longevity and Neurotherapeutics. Established in 2023, the center’s mission is to foster new discoveries and therapeutics that promote longevity and health span, or the length of time a person is healthy and experiencing high quality of life.

According to Rick G. Schnellmann, Ph.D., dean of the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy, Coit’s gift will allow the college to support “the researchers of tomorrow who will carry the torch and advance our groundbreaking research in drug discovery, aging and neurodegeneration therapeutics to improve patient care for future generations.”

Regarding the potential impact of the Center for Longevity and Neurotherapeutics, co-director and R. Ken and Donna Coit Endowed Chair in Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases Bernardo Lemos, Ph.D., remarked, “I really believe at this stage, the potential is limitless both in terms of
discovery and impact. The question is always effort and resources, and if there is enough effort with enough resources, over time good things will happen.”