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
its medical and dental schools were moved to Memphis.The school received college status in 1959, consistent with the other colleges of
UTHSC Memphis. Today, UTHSC – with 2,000 students and 3,000 employees – is one of the nation's leading academic health centers. TheHistory of the College of Pharmacy follows the college from its inception in 1898 to the present.
Until 1926, the School of Pharmacy did not have its own dean, but functioned as part
of the College of Medicine. Dr. Andrew R. Bliss, Jr., author, inventor, teacher, and
one of the nation's leading pharmacists, came to the university in 1923 as Chief of
the Division of Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Medicine.
Dr. Bliss received his PhG from New York College of Pharmacy, his PhC from Columbia
University, his MA and LLD from Howard College, and his MD from the University of
Alabama. Appointed in Spring 1926 as the first dean of the School of Pharmacy, Dr.
Bliss reorganized the school and increased the number of faculty members to 30 by
1933. After seven years as dean, he resigned to become Director of Webster Laboratories
in Memphis and later served as the first dean of the pharmacy school at Howard College
(now Samford University) in Birmingham, Alabama.
A native of Dyer County, Tennessee, Dr. Crowe received his PhC degree from Ohio State
University and was recruited to the UTHSC College of Medicine to enroll in medical
school and play on the UT Docs football team. While in medical school, he was in charge
of the dispensary and taught pharmacy and pharmacology.
Turning to teaching as his life's work, he did not receive his medical degree, but
was licensed to practice medicine anyway. Dr. Crowe treated patients in his office
throughout his tenure on faculty. He was appointed Professor and Chief of the Division
of Pharmacy in 1925 and Dean of the School of Pharmacy in 1936.
Dr. Crowe nurtured and guided the School into one of the largest and best pharmacy
schools in the nation over the next 17 years. Active with the Tennessee General Assembly
lobbying for the School and profession, Dr. Crowe's name was synonymous with pharmacy
in Tennessee, and he knew every pharmacist in the state personally, UTHSC alumni or
not. He served as Dean until his death on July 26, 1953.
Dr. Goldner, a native of Minneapolis, received his BSPh, MS, and PhD degrees at the
University of Minnesota and taught dispensing pharmacy, quantitative pharmacy, and
chemistry at the University of Wisconsin before joining the School of Pharmacy faculty
in 1940. During his deanship, the first graduate program, a master’s program in hospital
pharmacy, was begun. He was a member of Sigma Xi and the American Association for
the Advancement of Science. After his resignation from the deanship in 1959, he continued
to serve many years at UT as Professor of Pharmacognosy and as Secretary of the Memphis
and Shelby County Pharmaceutical Society.
On March 1, 1959, at age 36, Dr. Dick Feurt became Dean of the School of Pharmacy.
A native of Missouri and World War II veteran, he earned his BSPh degree at Loyola
University of the South in New Orleans, and his MS and PhD degrees from the University
of Florida.
Prior to his UTHSC tenure, Dr. Feurt was Professor of Pharmacology at the University
of Georgia, where he was a co-inventor of the tranquilizer gun, a tool used in wildlife
management. Dean Feurt's accomplishments at the university are significant, including
the change of name to College of Pharmacy, recruitment of acclaimed teachers and scientists
to the College, new graduate programs in the pharmaceutical sciences, and the beginning
of the PharmD program in 1968. He was described as "a young man, full of vigor, energetic,
aggressive, bold, and seething with ideals." He founded the Tennessee Pharmacy Tripartite
Committee to bring the profession together in Tennessee.
Dr. Feurt served as dean until his death on January 19, 1975. Because of their respect,
members of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy and Tennessee Pharmacists Association,
in cooperation with the University, started the Seldon D. Feurt Memorial Fund to honor
Dr. Feurt and provide private funding for scholarships, fellowships, research grants,
and other needs of the College.
Dr. Autian, a native of Philadelphia earned his BSPharm at Temple University and his
MS and PhD at the University of Maryland. He arrived at UTHSC College of Pharmacy
in 1967 from the University of Texas and started the Materials Science Toxicology
Laboratories, which reached a level of national and international prominence and helped
establish new federal regulations on medical devices. In 1973, Dr. Autian was named
the first recipient of the UT National Alumni Association Public Service Award. He
served as President of the UTHSC Faculty Senate and was Chair, Department of Molecular
Biology. He was named Dean of the College of Pharmacy on August 1, 1975. Dean Autian
pushed for approval of the PharmD degree as the entry-level degree in pharmacy.
He served as dean until 1982, when he was named Dean of the UTHSC Graduate School
of Medical Sciences and Vice Chancellor for Research, serving until his retirement
in 1985. After retirement, Dr. Autian worked tirelessly as an international humanitarian
and health science educator and was a proponent of the Memphis Biomedical Research
Zone.
The Missouri native received his BS Pharm degree at St. Louis College of Pharmacy
and his PhD in pharmacy administration at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Ryan
joined the UTHSC College of Pharmacy faculty in 1972 and was named Assistant Dean
in 1977, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 1979, and Executive Associate Dean
of the College in 1983. Dean Ryan's administration brought innovative changes to the
College, beginning in 1984 when the PharmD course of study was incorporated for all
pharmacy students, one of the first schools in the nation to do so. The first UTHSC
all-PharmD class graduated in 1988.
A particular strength of Dr. Ryan's deanship was the improvement of relations between
the College, alumni and pharmacists across Tennessee. Following his tenure at the
University of Tennessee, Dr. Ryan served as Dean of the School of Business and as
Vice President for Advancement at Christian Brothers University in Memphis.
The first UTHSC alumnus to serve as Dean of the College of Pharmacy, Dr. Gourley,
a native of Paducah, Kentucky, received his pre-pharmacy education at UT Knoxville,
where he played varsity baseball for the Volunteers. He earned his BSPh in 1969 and
his PharmD in 1970 from the UTHSC College of Pharmacy. After graduation, he served on the faculties of Mercer University Southern School
of Pharmacy and the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy. He also served five
years at Mercer as Dean and as Provost of the Atlanta campus.
Under Dean Gourley's visionary leadership, several innovative programs were initiated,
including international affiliations, the PharmD/PhD dual-degree program, and graduate
programs were dramatically expanded. Three endowed professorships were begun or filled.
Dr. Gourley was a founder of the International Foundation for Pharmacy Education and
served as a member of the APhA Board of Trustees. Beginning in 1993, U.S. News & World
Report listed the UTHSC College of Pharmacy as one of the best pharmacy schools in
the nation.
Dean from 2012-2022.
A native of New York, Marie A. Chisholm-Burns, received her BS in Pharmacy and Doctor
of Pharmacy degrees from The University of Georgia and her Master of Public Health
from Emory University. She became Dean of the College of Pharmacy in 2012. Dr. Chisholm-Burns
is the founder and director of the Medication Access Program, which increases medication
access to solid-organ transplant patients. She served in numerous elected leadership
positions in several different professional organizations, has worked in multiple
pharmacy settings, and is a member of the National Academies of Practice.
Dr. Chisholm-Burns is considered a prolific scholar due to her numerous publications
and grants. She has been recognized with several awards and honors, including the
Medical Book Award from the American Medical Writers Association, the Robert K. Chalmers
Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award from the American Association of Colleges of
Pharmacy, the Clinical Pharmacy Education Award from the American College of Clinical
Pharmacy, the Daniel B. Smith Practice Excellence Award from the American Pharmacists
Association, and the Nicholas Andrew Cummings Award from the National Academies of
Practice.
Additionally, she has received the Award of Excellence from the American Society of
Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the Pharmacy Practice Research Award from the ASHP
Foundation Literature Awards Program, and has been a two-time recipient of the Rufus
A. Lyman Award for most outstanding publication in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical
Education.
