College of Pharmacy Timeline

1882 Frank Wulling is brought to the University of Minnesota to head the new pharmacy school
1892 The College of Pharmacy opens offering a two-year graduate in pharmacy (PhG) course
1895 The master of pharmacy (PhmM) degree course is approved
1917 The National Research Council asks the college to reserve some digitalis for the benefit of the government
1918 The College donates large amounts of digitalis to the US government
1924 The Alumni Association of the College of Pharmacy requests that the College discontinue the three-year Bachelor of Science course in favor of a four-year course
1926 The College adopts a four-year Bachelor of Science course
1931 The College adopts a five-year Bachelor of Science course of study
1936 After 44 years of service, Dean Wulling retires. Charles H. Rogers is named Dean. Rogers’s first appointment at the University of Minnesota was as an instructor in Pharmaceutical Chemistry in 1913. The College is departmentalized into Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacy, and Pharmacognosy for the first time
1937 The College begins offering a five year combined course in Pharmacy and Business Administration, leading to a combined Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and a Bachelor of Business Administration
1956 Dean Rogers retires in June; George P. Hager succeeds him as dean. Hager had been a senior scientist at Smith, Klein and French Laboratories in Philadelphia prior to his appointment at Minnesota
1957 The College faculty decide that faculty and student knowledge of radio-isotopes “will be highly desirable in the near future” (July 5, 1957, College of Pharmacy Faculty Meeting minutes)
1959 Dean Hager talks to the State Legislature about the importance of not removing restrictions on the sale of large quantities of drugs. “This amendment is backed by large grocery chains and others interested in their economic advantage under the chaotic conditions which would result from adoption of the Bill” (March 4, 1959, Faculty meeting minutes)
1962 The College of Pharmacy begins offering courses in pharmacology for nurses
1964 The MS in hospital pharmacy is approved
1965 A new course on institutional pharmacy is proposed “in view of the rapidly expanding need for pharmacists in hospitals, nursing homes, and health care institutions, especially under the Medicare program of the federal government, such a course would be of more service to pharmacy students than the present hospital pharmacy course” (September 21, 1965, Faculty Meeting Minutes)
1966 Dean Hager resigns. Lawrence Weaver is appointed dean after working as a pharmacologist and executive in the Dow Chemical Company
1967 Dean Weaver begins discussions with the dean of the College of the Medical Sciences, the dean of the School of Dentistry, and the directors of the schools of Nursing and Public Health about including the College of Pharmacy in a new health science center. Dean Weaver requests advice on this move from deans of pharmacy at other universities. This same year, the College of Pharmacy established a clinical component was added to the B.S. program
1969 The Department of Clinical Pharmacy is established with Hugh Kabat as chair
1970 The University’s previously autonomous College of Pharmacy and School of Dentistry are reorganized, together with the Schools of Nursing, Medicine, and Public Health, and the University Hospitals, into a centrally organized and administered academic health center (AHC) referred to as the Health Sciences
1971 The College introduces the postbaccalaureate doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree programs, a two-year program composed of coursework–anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and therapeutics–and clinical rotations; it is one of the first PharmD programs in the United States
1972 The Department of Social and Administrative Pharmacy is established with Albert Wertheimer as chair
1974 The College begins a program that will encourage more teacher evaluations and improve teaching skills
1975 The Newsletter for Pharmacy Practitioners is started to keep Minnesota practitioners informed. The College receives a training grant to increase minority students in the field
1976 The pharmaceutical and medical communities throughout the state and country become concerned about the huge number of drugs on the market and the inability of physicians to keep track of all of them. (“Are physicians facing an antibiotic knowledge gap?” Drug Topics, January 15, 1976)
1977 Dean Weaver writes to the College faculty about the possibility of having a combined B.S. Pharm/M.B.A. program. The Federal Trade Commission begins investigating anti-substitution laws and requests assistance from the College. They put together a task force to prepare a College position on the issue. The College initiates a pharmacy “externship” that would “place third-year pharmacy students in rural communities that lack quality health care.” (“Pharmacy ‘externship’ program would farm out students” Minnesota Daily, 3/30/77)
1978 The College stops offering the B.S. in pharmacy; the basic pharmacy degree becomes the PharmD. In doing so, the College follows the path of other professional schools such as dentistry, law, medicine, and veterinary medicine in requiring practitioners to earn professional degrees
1979 The College begins pursuing joint research projects with the School of Nursing
1980 The College moves from Appleby Hall to Weaver Densford Hall 1981 The Smithsonian Institution contacts the College about a possible exchange of historical pharmaceutical materials. The College also added a six year, entry level Pharm.D. program 1984 Lawrence Weaver resigns from the deanship to become vice president of professional relationships for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of America (PMA) in Washington D.C. Dr. Mahmoud Abdel-Monem serves as interim dean 1985 Gilbert S. Banker is appointed dean of the College. Dean Banker reinstates reorganizes the school under departments, which had been discontinued under Weaver’s deanship. Dean Banker also places renewed emphasis on research within the College 1987 The College of Pharmacy undergoes curriculum revisions and establishes career tracking options 1988 The University licenses carbovir, an AIDS treatment developed by Dr. Robert Vince of the College of Pharmacy, to Glaxo Pharmaceutical Company (now GlaxoSmithKline) 1992 Dean Banker resigns. Robert Cipolle becomes interim dean 1994 Lawrence Weaver returns to the College to serve as interim dean 1995 The College establishes a new entry level Pharm.D. program and phases out previous Pharm.D. and B.S. programs 1996 Marilyn K. Speedie becomes dean of the College of Pharmacy 2003 The pharmacy program expands to the University of Minnesota Duluth campus in an effort to offset a shortage of and meet rural needs for pharmacists 2009 The College, particularly through the work of Drs. Randall Seifert and Stephen Schondelmeyer, plays a pivotal role in adding medication therapy management (MTM) to U-Plan 2013 The College creates a new curriculum to support the need for generalist pharmacists on health care teams