The California Health Sciences University College of Pharmacy’s Class of 2021 will graduate Saturday, when 76 students will receive their Doctor of Pharmacy degree. They are the fourth group of pharmacy doctors to graduate from the Clovis medical school, which opened in 2014.

Over half of the class have already obtained jobs or residencies, the university said. Ninety percent plan to stay in California, and 70% plan to practice in the Central Valley, which lags the rest of the state in medical practitioners.

The graduation will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Clovis Hills Community Church and will be attended by the university board of trustees, administration, faculty, graduates, and invited guests with tickets. The ceremony also will be livestreamed on the CHSU Facebook page.

Dr. Mark Okamoto, dean of the College of Pharmacy, will lead the ceremony and hooding of the graduates, assisted by Dr. Harish Parihar, associate dean for academics, and Dr. Sunil Sonawane, director of experiential education.

President Florence Dunn will confer the Doctor of Pharmacy degree on the graduates. With the Class of 2021, the College of Pharmacy will have graduated 244 students in four years.

More Health Sciences Graduates to Come

CHSU was founded by the Assemi family. Darius Assemi is publisher of GV Wire.

It is the first university of its kind in the Central Valley and plans to open as many as 10 post-baccalaureate colleges to train health care professionals in coming years. The timing and specific discipline for each new school will be determined based on the need and opportunity for job placement in the region.

The CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine is accepting applications for the third class of students, who will enroll in 2022.