Community Relations

ACPHS believes strongly that institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to the community outside campus borders.

ACPHS Academy

With this philosophy in mind, the College founded ACPHS Academy , an after school program that promotes math and science education for local, at-risk elementary school students. Since 2006, ACPHS Academy students have met twice a week for ten weeks each semester. Classes are led by local elementary school teachers, with ACPHS students assisting in the role of mentors. ACPHS Academy uses an interactive approach to learning that is designed to raise interest and improve performance by students - not only in the subjects of mathematics and science, but in their other studies as well. By hosting the ACPHS Academy classes on the campus, the program also helps introduce students to the college experience at a young age and shows how college can be part of their futures.

Summer Enrichment Program

The Summer Enrichment Program is a six week program designed for science-minded students from area high schools. Each week during the program, students conduct three days of research with an ACPHS faculty member, participate in one day of instructional activities and use the remaining day to tour a pharmaceutical or biomedical company in the region. At the conclusion of the program, students present their research findings to an audience comprised of faculty and staff from the College.

High School Research Programs at the Pharmaceutical Research Institute

The Pharmaceutical Research Institute at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (PRI) is actively engaged with local high school students interested in learning the fundamentals of scientific research. PRI partners directly with area high schools that have existing experiential (i.e. out-of-classroom) programs for students, typically upper-level juniors and seniors, interested in learning about a career in science. PRI also has a mentoring program in place through which students can gain hands-on experience in a laboratory working under the close supervision of a Senior Research Scientist at PRI. Current and past schools represented in the program include: Albany High School, Academy of the Holy Names, Berlin High School, Catskill High School, Coxsackie-Athens High School, Hudson High School, Ichabod Crane Central High School, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School, Taconic Hills High School, Troy High School and Watervliet Junior/Senior High School. For more information about these and other research opportunities for grades K-12, visit the PRI website at www.pri-albany.org.

Other community oriented activities hosted by the College include the annual Health Fair event held each October on the campus, and Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society which takes place in the spring. For information regarding these programs or to become involved, contact Gil Chorbajian, ACPHS's Director of Marketing and Communications at gil.chorbajian@acphs.edu or at (518) 694-7394.