The University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy’s 175th anniversary was featured in the 2025 Cecil B. Striker annual lecture series on October 14th. The lecture series is an annual program of the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions. Esteemed pharmacy historian, Dennis B. Worthen gave a standing ovation lecture entitled Pharmacy Education In The Queen City: 1850—2025. Pharmacy Education in the Queen City: 1850-2025 – UC Libraries MediaSpace. Worthen traced the origins of pharmacy education in Cincinnati, beginning with Peter Smith’s Indian Doctor Dispensatory (1810), the first medical book published in Ohio, through today’s College of Pharmacy, which boasts PharmD joint degrees, online master’s and interdisciplinary degrees, graduates from the United States and over 23 countries. Worthen’s narrative of the 175th anniversary of the College of Pharmacy is honored with a year-long exhibition in the Stanley Lucas Boardroom, Health Sciences Library.
Dennis B. Worthen, Ph.D., served as an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy where he taught the history of pharmacy courses from 1999-2017. He was also affiliated with the Lloyd Library and Museum in Cincinnati, OH as executive director and then the Lloyd Scholar from 1999 to 2013. He retired from Procter & Gamble Health Care as the director of pharmacy affairs in 1999. Dr. Worthen completed his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan and received his graduate degrees from Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Worthen has authored and edited a number of books on the history of pharmacy including Heroes of Pharmacy: Professional Leadership in Times of Change, The Millis Study Commission On Pharmacy: A Road Map to a Profession’s Future, and Pharmacy in World War II for which he received the 2010 American Institute of the History of Pharmacy’s Kremmers Lecture Award for excellence in pharmaco-historical writing by an American author. He is the co-author with Michael A. Flannery, Ph.D. of Pharmaceutical Education in the Queen City: 150 Years of Service 1850-2000. Dr Worthen was the editor-in-chief of the Dictionary of Pharmacy and an editor of Reflections on Pharmacy by the Remington Medalists 1919-2003. He was a co-author for both editions of Clinical Pharmacy in the United States.
From 1986—1989, Dr. Worthen was awarded an Allied Irish Bank Visiting Professorship at the College of Pharmacy at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1998, he received both the Linwood F. Tice Friend of the APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists Award and the Phi Lambda Sigma National Leadership Award. In 1996 and 2003 he was the recipient of Fischelis grants from the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy to support his research on pharmacy in World War II. In 2006, he was elected to the International Academy of the History of Pharmacy. The American Pharmacists Association elected him its Honorary President for the 2010-11 term. In 2015, he received the APhA Foundations highest honor, the Jacob W. Miller Award. In 2017, Phi Delta Chi inducted him as an Honorary Brother.
Daniel Drake’s contributions are featured in the History of Pharmacy Education in the Queen City exhibition. He published NATURAL AND STATISTICAL VIEW, OR PICTURE OF CINCINNATI AND THE MIAMI COUNTRY, ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS—WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAINING OBSERVATIONS ON The late Earthquakes, the Aurora Borealis, and South-West Wind in1815. It was the first study of the geology of the western Ohio Valley, with special attention given to “elephant fossils” at Big Bone Lick. These fossils were later determined to be Mammoths. The map includes Indigenous mounds within Cincinnati.
Cincinnati boasts one of the oldest professional schools in the United States. The Cincinnati College of Pharmacy was incorporated in March 1850. It was a profound leader in pharmaceutical education. Cincinnatians and pharmacy pioneers, William B. Chapman, Adolphus Fennel, William J.M. Gordon, Charles August Smith, and Edward S. Wayne played pivotal roles in the establishment of the American Pharmaceutical Association. In 1852 Charles A. Smith was elected its first Vice President, followed by William B. Chapman as President in 1854. The latter years of the 19th century held significant developments for the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy.
In 1880 women were admitted for the first time and the College became affiliated with the University of Cincinnati. In 1884 Mrs. A.H. Merrell became the first female graduate. Four years later, Cora Dow graduated and later established the Dow Drug Company. In the late 1890s the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy ceased affiliation with UC. It reorganized as a proprietary pharmaceutical school in 1898 and collaborated with Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
During its 175 years the College survived wars, financial challenges, affiliations with multiple colleges and merger with the University of Cincinnati in 1954. Today, the UC College of Pharmacy has an exceptional curriculum in all areas of pharmacy. Students graduate to serve in community pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, the pharmaceutical industry, and in consumer products development.
The Queen City College of Pharmacy had several incarnations until its merger with the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy in 1920. The college was founded by Frank Cain in 1912. It was affiliated with the Normal University in Lebanon, Ohio and transferred to Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio in 1917. The title of Queen City College of Pharmacy was designated due to its location at the Lyric Building near Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. College admissions plummeted across the country upon America’s involvement in World War I causing significant financial hardship for the majority of academic institutions.
The leadership of Joseph Kowalewski, Ph.D., made an indelible impact on pharmacy education in the region. He was known affectionately as “Dean Joe”. In 1954 Dean Joe forged a merger with the University of Cincinnati. He was named its first Dean and served in this capacity until retiring in 1970. During its early years, the college was threatened with loss of accreditation and subsequent closure. When the University of Cincinnati President Raymond Walters stated the pharmacy school would need to raise a $1,000,000 endowment, Dean Joe accepted the challenge.
During Dr. Kowalewski’s tenure as Dean, he increased the number of faculty and students. Dean Joe strengthened the college’s academic programs and expanded the Bachelor of Sciences program to five years. He broke down barriers that prevented Black and Jewish students from winning academic awards and participating in graduation ceremonies.
Dean Joe earned a lasting legacy with the pharmacy students. They described him as, “He would do everything he could to help you succeed…he would pay tuition for students who were having financial problems. He governed us with the drop of an eyebrow, which meant disapproval. He is another real-life example of an excellent teacher who helped mold youths into becoming the backbone of America. ‘Remember that your profession is a noble one which serves society in a most vital way; you must help keep it so…”(1954).
Kowalewski’s legacy of leadership in the pharmacy education has been a consistent feature of the College of Pharmacy. In 1987 the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy was one of nine universities in the United States that offered graduate training in Cosmetic Science and the only program that combined academic training with a cooperative work experience in research laboratories. Cosmetic Science students engaged in nine months of classes and laboratory instruction. This curriculum was followed by six to twelve months of work Co-op while completing their Master’s thesis and receiving vital industry experience. Students took courses in biostatistics, regression analysis, experimental design, pharmaceutical technology, toxicology, pharmaceutical science, cosmetic science and literature. The program included laboratory in cosmetic formulation, evaluation, preservation and stabilization of cosmetic products. Students attended lecture series which covered hair, skin, safety testing and microbiology. Today, UC offers a Master of Science in Cosmetic Science in their on-line program.
The History of Pharmacy Education in the Queen City exhibition will be displayed in the Stanley Lucas Boardroom 2025—2026.
The Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions is fortunate to have wonderful friends who support our mission. We are grateful to our donors whose loyal generosity and partnership make the Cecil Striker Society lecture possible. They include: John Bossert, Bill and Ellen Camm, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ken and Johnie Davis, Phil and Linda Diller, Mike and Rebecca Farrell, Carl and Joyce Fischer, Bill Hurford and Lesley Gilbertson, Rick and Laura Kretschmer, Cecil Striker, Ted and Carol Striker, UC Health, Carolyn and Creighton Wright.