College of Pharmacy

History

The College of Pharmacy traces its origins to the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus in 1898. The School relocated to Memphis in 1909 to join the city's College of Physicians and Surgeons. The resulting institution became part of the University of Tennessee in 1911, when the UT medical and dental schools were moved to Memphis. The school received college status in 1959, consistent with the other colleges of UT Memphis.  Today, the UT Health Science Center, with 2,000 students and 3,000 employees, is one of the nation's leading academic health centers.

Years of Excellence: A Chronology

1898-Pharmacy courses were first offered as a part of the chemistry department at UT Knoxville. The moving spirit in the organization was Professor Charles O. Hill, a chemistry faculty member who had received his pharmacy education at the University of Michigan.

1890-The Pharmacy Department graduated its first students, Henry Comer Fite of Hendersonville and Samuel Gerstle Spiro of Knoxville.

1906-The Pharmacy Department was made a separate School of Pharmacy. Pharmacy education continued in Knoxville until 1909, graduating 27 men with the Pharmaceutical Chemist (Ph.C.) degree. Students were admitted on certification from a reputable pharmacist, stating that the student had regularly worked in a practical pharmacy for a period of at least two years.

1909-Pharmacy instruction, formerly carried on at Knoxville, was moved to Memphis. The pharmacy department in Memphis was conducted under the auspices of the College of Physicians and Surgeons for two sessions, 1909-1910. In 1910 pharmacy became a department of the old University of Memphis. The University of Memphis graduated eight pharmacy students. Beginning with the session of 1911-12, pharmacy resumed operation as The University of Tennessee School of Pharmacy, upon the transfer of the UT medical and dental schools to Memphis.

1912-Six students graduated in the first pharmacy class on the UT Memphis campus. Tuition in the early days at UT was $100, including laboratory and demonstration fees. Expenses were estimated at $225 per year.

1914-The School applied for and received recognition by the New York Board of Regents. The School graduated its first female, Emma Hutson Hutchinson.

1924-The School applied for and received full membership in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

1926-Andrew Richard Bliss, Jr. was appointed the first dean of the UT School of Pharmacy. Dr. Bliss was an eminent pharmacist, researcher, and educator. He had come to the University in 1923 as Chief of the Division of Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Medicine. The number of faculty members increased from 11 in 1911 to 30 by 1931. Dr. Bliss served as dean until June 30, 1933, when he resigned to become a director of Webster Laboratories, whose facilities were located just across the street from the School of Pharmacy in Memphis.

1927 & 1928-Until 1928, the main building of the School of Pharmacy was Lindsley Hall. The building had also served as the home of the old College of Physicians and Surgeons, and in fact, it was the only building on the UT campus in Memphis for a number of years. In 1927, the Tennessee General Assembly provided funds for the erection of a new pharmacy building, later named the Crowe Research Building. The Crowe building served for over sixty years as the home of the School of Pharmacy, and some offices and laboratories of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences remain housed in the Crowe Building today.

1936-Robert L. Crowe was appointed Dean of the School of Pharmacy. Dr. Crowe’s career goal was to become a physician, but after being introduced into the world of teaching, he decided that teaching was to be his life’s work, so he never received his medical degree, although he was licensed by examination to practice medicine (not surgery) in Tennessee. It is believed that Dr. Crowe is perhaps the only person in the 20th Century without a medical degree licensed to practice medicine in the state. He routinely practiced medicine in his office at the School of Pharmacy, seeing indigent patients at no charge. Dr. Crowe was also an inventor, having developed two medicines, had them patented, and later sold them to an Ohio drug firm. Dr. Crowe guided the School from a small department into one of the largest and best pharmacy schools in the United States. Dr. Crowe's name was synonymous with pharmacy in Tennessee. He could be found in Nashville lobbying the General Assembly for the College and the profession during every session. Dr. Crowe served as dean until his death in July 1953.

1937-The School conferred the first B.S. in Pharmacy degree.

1940’s-World War II brought a dramatic decrease in pharmacy school enrollment but it escalated again in the latter 1940’s. Only 16 students graduated with pharmacy degrees from 1944 through 1946. Overseas, two UT pharmacy grads and one student made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. In 1942, Lee New Minor ('40) was killed in China while serving with General Claire Chenault's famed "Flying Tigers." Navy Chief Pharmacist Mate David Edward Nolte ('27) died after Japanese bombs hit his destroyer off The Phillipines in 1944. Pete Hooser had completed only his first year of pharmacy school, and he was reported missing in action in Europe in 1944. Pete was the son of pharmacist Eddie and Aileen Hooser of Nashville. Eddie Hooser was President of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association at the time of his son's death.

1953-Upon the death of Dean Robert L. Crowe, Karl John Goldner succeeded him as dean, serving as dean until 1959, when he resigned to resume his teaching career. During the 1950’s pharmacy school tuition at UT was $90 per quarter or $270 per year. UT Memorial Hospital was completed in Knoxville, a vital educational component.

1959-Seldon Dick Feurt was appointed dean on March 1. Dr. Feurt was instrumental in the changing of the name of the school to College of Pharmacy, consistent with the Colleges of Medicine and Dentistry on the Memphis campus. Dean Feurt brought acclaimed teachers, scientists and researchers to UT, the faculty being increased to 60 full-time and part-time teaching and research members. Under Dr. Feurt’s leadership the UT College of Pharmacy became the largest pharmacy school in the South and one of the five largest schools in the nation.

1962-The five-story pharmacy and dentistry research building at 26 S. Dunlap was completed. This building was renamed for Dean Seldon D. Feurt after his death in 1975. It now houses offices and laboratories of the College's Departments of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

1963-The graduate program in pharmaceutical sciences was introduced, leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

1968-The Doctor of Pharmacy degree program was established with the first two Pharm.D. students, Gary Cripps and Max Ray, graduating in 1969.

1969-The Wassell Randolph Student-Alumni Center and the Randolph Dormitory on the UT Memphis campus were completed.

1973-The first African-American, James Saarnell Hayes, earned his B.S. in Pharmacy degree and in 1974 earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree, making him not only the first black B.S.Ph. graduate, but also the first black Pharm.D. graduate of The University of Tennessee.

1975-Following the death of Dr. Feurt on January 19, Dr. Martin Ellis Hamner was named acting dean. Dr. Hamner served until August 1, when Dr. John Autian was named dean. Having arrived at the College in 1967 from the University of Texas, Dr. Autian established the UT Materials Science Toxicology Laboratories in 1968. Because of the work of Dr. Autian and Dr. W. Homer Lawrence, the MST Labs reached a level of national and international prominence and helped establish new FDA regulations on medical devices. During Dr. Autian’s deanship, emphasis on the Pharm.D. degree grew throughout the United States, and he pushed for approval of the degree as the entry-level degree and the only degree offered by the UT College of Pharmacy. Dr. Autian served as Dean until 1982 when he was appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences and Vice Chancellor for Research at UT Memphis.

1976-The formal agreement establishing the Seldon D. Feurt Memorial Fund was signed. This memorial to the late dean was established by members of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy, in cooperation with the Tennessee Pharmacists Association, and alumni of the College. The agreement outlined the planned usage of money to be raised and formed the Feurt Committee as the Fund’s governing body. Because of the tireless efforts of the Committee and the generosity of hundreds of alumni, today the Seldon D. Feurt Memorial Fund is one of the largest endowments in the College, containing over $1,800,000.

1982-Michael R. Ryan was named Dean of the College. Dr. Ryan’s term brought innovative changes to the College, beginning in 1984, when the Pharm.D. course of study was implemented for all pharmacy students, one of the first schools in the nation to do so. Dr. Ryan served as Dean until 1989.

1985-The Harriett S. Van Vleet Foundation awarded UT a gift of $3,000,000 to support research and education in pharmacy and the biomedical sciences. The $1,000,000 pharmacy portion of the Van Vleet Foundation gift brought the Van Vleet Professorship in Pharmacy and support for research and graduate student scholarships.

1988-UT's first all-Pharm.D. class graduated.

1989-James C. Eoff III served as acting dean following the resignation of Dean Ryan. In September, UT alumnus Dick R. Gourley was named Dean of the College. A native of Paducah, KY, he received his pre-pharmacy education at UT Knoxville, where he played varsity baseball for the Volunteers. He earned his B.S. in Pharmacy and Pharm.D. degrees from the UT College of Pharmacy in 1969 and 1970, respectively.

1989-Eight Chairs of Excellence and two Centers of Excellence at UT Memphis were established as a result of Governor Lamar Alexander and the Tennessee General Assembly’s Better Schools Program. In the program, the State of Tennessee matched private donations for the establishment of chairs and centers, up to $500,000 each. The program led directly to the investment of First Tennessee Bank in the First Tennessee Chair of Excellence in Pharmacy. William E. Evans was named First Tennessee Chair in 1990.

1990-The UT College of Pharmacy hosted the first international symposium on health care for students, faculty and alumni. During the symposium UT signed affiliation agreements with pharmacy educators from Denmark, Sweden, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, England, and Spain. The international exchange program began when eight UT pharmacy students embarked on the College’s first international externships later that same year. Today the program enables 25 fourth-year students the opportunity to study abroad. As a result of the international program, the Feurt Memorial Committee refocused their funding efforts, targeting the Fuert International Scholars program, the innovative dual-degree Pharm.D./Ph.D. scholarship program and the annual Feurt Symposium for funding.

1990-The Dean’s Advisory Council was created. Composed of representatives of industry, professional organizations, and practitioners in the various areas of pharmacy, this body advises the dean and the college on important topics facing pharmacy and health care. In addition, the Council has helped build stronger corporate and health systems relationships for the College. More involvement by industry has not only brought wise counsel and timely advice, but corporate support of College programs has increased dramatically. 

1992-Duane D. Miller, Ph.D., named the Harriett S. Van Vleet Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

1993-U.S. News & World Report, in its annual issue listing the nation’s best graduate schools, ranked the UT College of Pharmacy as the eighth best pharmacy school granting the Pharm.D. degree. The 1997 issue ranked the College as #7. It is the goal of Dean Gourley, faculty members, students and alumni to enter the top five, ultimately becoming the top ranked pharmacy school in the United States.

2004-In May, Governor Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee General Assembly approved $42.8 million to construct a new building for the College of Pharmacy on the UT Health Science Center campus in Memphis. Architectural firms TRO The Ritchie Organization and Evans Taylor Foster Childress, both of Memphis, were assigned by the State Building Commission to the project in August.

2005-The site of the new pharmacy building, The Physicians and Surgeons Building of the former Baptist Memorial Hospital, was imploded and cleared, making way for construction of the new building to begin in 2007.

2006-First year enrollment increased to 200 students and expansion of the College's programs in Knoxville was begun, including construction of a new 15,000 square foot facility on the UT Medical Center campus.

From a small, struggling department with no equipment and few students in the first decades of its existence, The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy has grown into one of the most respected pharmacy schools in the entire world. Because of the loyal support and encouragement of students, faculty, University and campus administration, and thousands of alumni nationwide, the College strives to provide the best pharmacy education available, undertake innovative research, and serve the profession and the people of Tennessee. With great expectations, we look forward to our future.