(14) The Influence of AACP Walmart Scholars Program on Academic Career Paths: A 16-Year Analysis

Objective : To assess the influence of the historical American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Walmart Scholars Program on the frequency of Scholar appointments in academia.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted from January to July 2022 for 1,202 Walmart Scholars by a team of student pharmacists and faculty. Scholars were hand-searched on LinkedIn and Google (i.e., academic institutional websites), and the AACP Membership Directory. Identity verification was guided by the Scholar’s name, sponsor school, and award year.

Results: Among the 1,202 Walmart Scholars, 90.8% were successfully identified in the search period. At the time of the search, 27.5% of previous Walmart Scholars were professionally engaged in academia in the capacity of full-time or adjunct faculty.

Conclusions: The historical AACP Walmart Scholars Program provided Scholars with an introductory glimpse into academic pharmacy through formalized mentorship and access to training through the financial scholarship to attend both the AACP Annual Meeting and Teacher’s Seminar. The program influenced a portion of participants to pursue academic careers. Therefore, it is necessary for the academy to consider alternative opportunities and programming considering the reported impact in order to nurture the next generation of teachers in the pharmacy academy.