The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) has announced the winners of its inaugural Unite for Impact Challenge, a national initiative designed to spark collaboration, innovation, and measurable change.
AACP Announces Winners of Inaugural Unite for Impact: A National Collaborative Challenge Advancing Community Pharmacy Innovation
Teams of faculty, practitioners, students, and their partners were challenged to create and launch new projects, campaigns, or partnerships that would drive measurable change through advocacy, practice transformation, and/or public engagement in community pharmacy.
Supported by leading national associations, including NASPA, NCPA, ASHP, and APhA, the challenge showcases creative strategies and tangible outcomes in three focus areas of community pharmacy practice.
The 2026 winners are:
Advocacy:
- Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy—Bridging Policy and Practice: Engaging Legislators on PBM Reform with Real-World Pharmacy Data.
Participants organized a legislative roundtable on campus to help policymakers better understand how pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reimbursement practices affect pharmacies and patient care.
Culture:
- Belmont University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences—Transforming Community Pharmacy Culture: An Academic-Practice Pipeline Partnership.
The partnership addressed negative perceptions of community pharmacy and strengthened the workforce pipeline into community practice by embedding a practicing Walgreens pharmacy leader on campus one day each week while they continued working in community pharmacy leadership.
Practice:
- The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and Kroger Health—Utilizing Pharmacy Students in a Value-Based Care Model.
The project created a scalable academic–practice partnership with Kroger Health that combines telepharmacy, population health, and experiential education to strengthen student training while expanding pharmacist-delivered care to patients across a large healthcare network.
Grand Overall Winner:
- University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy—Faculty Immersion in Contemporary Community Pharmacy Practice to Transform Curriculum and Advance Workforce Readiness.
The initiative established a sustainable framework for keeping pharmacy education closely connected to evolving community pharmacy practice, equipping graduates with the skills needed to develop, manage, and maintain innovative patient care services supported by reimbursement models.
Learn more about each of the projects.
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This challenge is a direct follow-on to the insights fostered at the 2025 Advancing Community Pharmacy Institute and provided a concrete opportunity to translate ideas into action by encouraging ongoing collaboration.
"The Unite for Impact Challenge demonstrates what is possible when academic pharmacy, community practice leaders, and students come together around a shared vision for the advancement of community pharmacy," said Lee Vermeulen, B.S.Pharm., M.S., FCCP, FFIP, Executive Vice President and CEO of AACP.
"These winning teams are not only advancing innovative solutions in advocacy, workforce development, and practice transformation, but also creating scalable models that will strengthen community pharmacy and improve health outcomes."
Additionally, several teams were recognized with Honorable Mentions based on reviewer scoring and overall project strength.
Honorable Mentions:
- Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Worcester/Manchester—Expanding Certified Pharmacy Technician Administered Vaccines in New Hampshire
- The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy—Country Roads and Urban Streets: Developing a Service-learning Elective Focused on Social Drivers of Health
- Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Colonial Family Pharmacy #2, BUILD, Greater Erie Community Action Committee, Erie County Immunication Coalition—Elevating Interdisciplinary Age-Friendly Person-Centered Care Excellence
Winners will be recognized and invited to present their projects during Pharmacy Education 2026, AACP’s Annual Meeting in Grapevine, Texas. Following the meeting, all participating teams will also be featured in the Unite for Impact multimedia library, highlighting innovative partnerships, projects, and strategies designed to inspire continued transformation across community pharmacy practice.
The challenge reflects the profession’s continued commitment to strengthening collaboration between academia and practice while advancing innovative models of patient care and workforce development.