ACPA believes in the need to support pharmacy education for our next generation; therefore, in 1991 the ACPA Scholarship Program was established. Membership dues and donations that are received through the successful fund raising efforts by Scholarship Committee and Fund Raising Committee provide the majority of the financial support for this program.

ACPA grants financial awards to students of Chinese heritage enrolled in an ACPE-accredited college of pharmacy in North America. All students in their professional years of study are eligible to apply. The applications will be evaluated in three areas:

• Educational achievement,
• Extracurricular activities, and
• Goals for career development.

Each candidate is judged on a composite assessment of these three criteria by the Scholarship Committee. Two scholarships are awarded annually, one to a third-fourth year student and the other a fifth-sixth year student. Since 1991, ACPA has awarded two scholarships annually, each for U.S. $1,000.00. Hopefully, the continuous fund raising efforts and the commitment of our general and lifetime members will sustain and possibly allow for expansion of this program.

The application procedure, requirements and description of the criteria are listed with all ACPE-accredited colleges of pharmacy throughout North America. This scholarship is not ­limited to ACPA members.

Past Scholarship Recipients

ACPA International Program

ACPA recognizes the importance of foreign ACPA membership participation and the benefits of collaboration with Chinese pharmaceutical organizations overseas. Since 1990, contacts have been established with many distinguished foreign pharmaceutical scientists and institutes in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Since then, activities such as international symposia, workshops and tours have been made available to our members in both continents. With the establishment of the International Affairs Committee in 1992, we further commit ourselves in broadening communication and collaboration with all pharmaceutical scientists of Chinese heritage around the world.

Since 1992, many activities toward broadening communication, collaboration, and participation in symposia and workshops have been carried out by ACPA. Delegations from the State Pharmaceutical Association of China and form provincial pharmaceutical institutes and industries in China, and delegations from the National Laboratories of Food and Drug and the Bureau of Drug in Taiwan have visited ACPA. Lectures by ACPA members and foreign tours have been frequently organized by ACPA International Affairs Committee. Three International Symposia and Workshops sponsored by ACPA had been held over last four years. They included:

• The first ACPA International Symposium at Kansas City, Missouri, May 28-30, 1993.
• The International Symposium on Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicines: Discovery, Development and Promotion Strategies, Chongqing, China, September 14-20, 1994. This meeting was organized by Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, cosponsored by ACPA, Pharmaceutical Society of China Taiwan, Pharmaceutical Society of Hong Kong and Chinese Medicinal Material Research Center.
• The Third ACPA International Symposium at Los Angeles, California, August 9-10, 1996.

ACPA Continued Education Program

Continued Education (CE) is required for most pharmacists who practice in the United States and Canada. To address the need of our pharmacist members, ACPA frequently sponsored C.E. seminars (ACPE approved credit) at regional dinner meetings and during ASHP and AAPS Annual meetings. Our regional coordinators are particularly encouraged to organize regional meetings involving CE activities. ACPA has been contributing fully or partially in financing these activities. Please contact your Regional Coordinators or Upcoming Events for the latest ACPA news and C.E. dinner meeting announcements!

Other Programs

Other programs can be initiated by our members whenever they are needed. In the past several years, ACPA members had initiated programs that called for member's action in helping our foreign colleagues, or, in some incidences, to help people we don't even know! Here are some of the examples:

• Call for Flood Relief Victims in Southern China in 1991
• Overseas Pharmacy Libraries Project
• Health Project in Chinatown
• Internship Training Program for Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientist from Mainland China

Get involved and be an activist of our profession! Please contact ACPA if you have any need or idea for a new program that elaborate our goals and missions.