A decade of change, advances

Alembic Pharmakon staff, circa 1974

The 1970s were a time of radical change in the country, and those changes were mirrored at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The women's liberation movement, the computer age, social responsibility, the war against drugs and a tough job market all had far-reaching implications for the College during the decade.

Walter Singer '48, Ph.D., had been at the helm of the College for three years, and was ably assisted by Assistant Dean Russell Denegar '43. The College still had only two programs of study going into the decade: the five-year B.S. in Pharmacy and the four-year B.S. in Medical Technology, in which the students spent their fourth year at St. Peter's Hospital School of Medical Technology, rather than at Bender Lab as in the past. Students paid around $1,400 for room and board and continued to reside in the surrounding neighborhoods in the absence of a dormitory.

The second and third years of the Medical Technology curriculum had been revised in the beginning of the 1970s. By the 1974-75 academic year, Dean Singer announced a radical change in the curriculum for pharmacy students as well. That fall, the fifth year for the B.S in Pharmacy was divided into three segments, including 24 weeks of didactic instruction at ACPHS with a block of 13 weeks of clinical practice (structured externship) at community pharmacies and health care institutions. The assignment of the 90 professional practice sites was coordinated Assistant Dean Albert M. White.

An ACPHS drug abuse display
Colonie Center, 1970

These curricular changes, especially the practical experience, were designed to give graduates a leg up in finding employment. With a record 566 students registered that fall and a flagging job market for pharmacists, some graduates found it increasingly difficult to find a position. Consequently, a job placement office was set up at the College in 1975. Interview Days, which had been started in 1968, also helped by introducing students to a plethora of pharmaceutical companies from throughout the country.

By 1978, a new Master's degree in Health Systems Management, in combination with the B.S. in Pharmacy, was added to the curriculum under the guidance of faculty member Joseph Lapetina, allowing students another career pathway.

The 1973 class picnic

Professor Lapetina also was put in charge of another relatively new component of life at ACPHS when he was named director of computer services. Computer facilities at the College in those days consisted of a Digital Equipment Corp. PDP 11/40, a time-sharing system that supported 16 terminals, either hard-wired or remote, and a Plato IV terminal. This computer-based teaching system, which was connected to the University of Illinois , provided a means for individual student tutoring through the use of both text and graphics.

In another new direction, ACPHS reached out to graduates with a nascent Continuing Education program when Ron McLean '51 and Kenneth Griswold '21, former trustee, were named to head up the Division of Extension Services in 1977. The program kicked off with a "Seminar of the Eye," as the first offering available to ACPHS alumni.

The '70s also brought radical change to the dress code at ACPHS. Beginning in 1970, the Student Council revised the rules to allow for more liberalized dress for classes and enforced the new code from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

ACPHS students in 1975

Sport coats and ties still were recommended for men, but not required. However, sweat shirts, sweaters without shirts and t-shirts were banned, as were sandals or sneakers. Blue jeans, providing they were clean and not ripped, were only the province of the male members of the student body, who still were required to wear lab coats for certain classes. Female students were allowed "slacks and culottes," though dresses were preferred. Hot pants, shorts, jeans, sweat shirts and t-shirts were prohibited .

President Nixon's "War Against Drugs," which had been launched in 1971, also came to the forefront during the decade and service activities at ACPHS reflected the prominence of the theme.

That year, the College sponsored an exhibit on the "Future of Pharmacy in the '70s" at Colonie Center , the first enclosed mall in the Capital Region. The most popular of the eight displays centered around the reactions of lab rats to depressants and stimulants. Drug abuse was a consistent theme of the ACPHS displays at the mall during National Pharmacy Week throughout the decade. In addition, Rho Pi Phi presented a drug abuse program to high school students in conjunction with New York State Narcotic Addiction Control Commission.

One hallmark of the '70s that was not reflected at ACPHS was the decline in the fraternity-sorority system, mirroring a national trend. The "restrictive and establishment-oriented fraternity membership has faded," said an article in Mortar and Pestle. At ACPHS, fraternities were both social and professional in nature and "filled the void" in terms of a social life "handicapped by the small size of the campus."

Phi Delta Chi pledges
at Ralph's, 1971

Though the decade started on a conservative note in terms of activities - with Lambda Kappa Sigma sponsoring Mother-Daughter banquets and freshmen teas for incoming female students - by the end of the '70s, for the first time it ACPHS's history, the ratio of men to women was roughly equal and activities at the school were reflective of that.

The Interfraternity and Sorority Council, with women playing an active part, sponsored school picnics, mixers and intramural sports programs. There were three professional fraternities on campus, Kappa Psi, Phi Delta Chi and the now co-ed "Ropes" in Rho Pi Phi, plus the Lambda Kappa Sigma sorority. The ACPHS chapter of Alpha Delta Theta, a professional sorority for women in the field of medical technology, was disbanded after the 1972-73 academic year.

All of the fraternal organizations were very active, both professionally and socially. Kappa Psi published a Student Directory and sponsored the annual Sweetheart Weekend. Phi Delta Chi had an active student recruitment program for incoming freshmen, in addition to social events such as the Winter Interlude. Rho Pi Phi set up Poison Prevention Week activities at Colonie Center and sponsored a Campus King and Queen Weekend. Lambda Kappa Sigma raised money for the S.S. Hope, a hospital ship, in addition to its active social calendar.

Jack v. Nicolais '74 in 1973

In 1976, a new pharmacy honor society, Rho Chi, open to both men and women, was established when the Gamma Gamma Chapter was started at ACPHS. The new organization, which recognized scholastic achievement, kicked off with an installation dinner at Jack's Oyster House downtown.

ACPHS also had student chapters of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), Pharmaceutical Society of the State of New York (PSSNY), Albany County Pharmaceutical Society, Northeastern New York Society of Hospital Pharmacists and American Chemical Society. PSSNY and APhA even had a Women's Auxiliary that provided loans for fourth- and fifth-year women. The student APhA chapter at ACPHS was in the national limelight when Jack V. Nicolais Jr. '74 was elected national president of the organization in 1972.

In addition to pharmacy-related organizations, ACPHS boasted the Mortar and Pestle and Alembic Pharmakon , a Music Ensemble, Film Club, Photography Club, Outing Club, Ski Club and the literary journal Panther Tales . There also was a Student Video Network, which produced telecasts written, produced, directed and acted by students, and the Panther Players, a Drama Club that performed popular plays such as "Spoon River Anthology" and "Harvey."

Washington Park Free Clinic

Both the new Key Club and Circle K involved students in myriad community service projects such as a Dance Marathon to benefit American Cancer Society. The Newman Club and the Student Christian Association combined during the decade to form the Interfaith Association, which also was involved in community volunteer work.

Students throughout the College were involved in staffing the Washington Park Free Medical Clinic on Hamilton Street , which in those days even received funding from the ACPHS student budget. Although they could not dispense, students assisted in the ordering of pharma- ceuticals and prepared them for patients.

ACPHS still participated in intercollegiate sports in the Northeastern Collegiate Conference and had basketball, soccer, cross country, tennis, softball and bowling teams for men. Women could compete in intercollegiate basketball, volleyball, softball and bowling, and there were intramural sports and Union College varsity sports available for both sexes.

Men's soccer team, 1974

The varsity golf and bowling teams were especially successful during the decade and brought home NCC championships. And the NCC All Sports trophy, commemorating the highest total points for athletic competition, went to ACPHS a few times during the '70s.

Students also could participate in more low-key competitions in between classes. In 1970, in answer to requests by many of the students, a new Student Union was created when a room in the 1927 building was emptied of lockers and re-designed for recreational use. Ping pong, cards, pool and Yahtzee, a game popularized by Milton-Bradley in 1973, were the most popular activities. Much to the dismay of the administration, the room was so poorly treated that the Student Union had to be closed for an entire week to allow Margaret Kirkpatrick, who had retired as cafeteria manager but remained on the facilities staff, to clean up.

Eventually, the room was opened at night and by 1979, beer and wine were available through an experimental program worked out with John's Tavern.

Campus Queen Paulette Sivak
1971

There was also a Coffee House in the cafeteria two nights a week where students could indulge in a folkier atmosphere, listening to Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan while quoting Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kahlil Gilbran, Herman Hesse and, that perennial '70s favorite, Alice in Wonderland. Other on-campus activities included comedy skits by the second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-year students, who acted out the roles of Dean Singer and their favorite professors.

Homecoming/Parents Weekend was moved from the fall and the first annual winter sports carnival with snow sculpture, basketball games, reception and brunch was held in February 1978.

ACPHS students kept an active social schedule and each year was marked by an endless cycle of occasions for celebration. The Junior Prom, the end-of year clambake at Thacher Park and the Halfway Party for third-year students, "a celebration of 2½ years of very hard work and the beginning of 2½ years of even harder work" were all a much-anticipated part of the schedule.

And, of course, there were toga parties, which skyrocketed in popularity with the 1978 release of National Lampoon's Animal House , starring Saturday Night Live veteran John Belushi. The television show also struck a chord with students at ACPHS, and throughout the nation, as evidenced by the number of "Conehead" clones at the annual ACPHS Halloween party.

Outside of school, there was always Ralph's, the "ACPHS Annex" on the corner of New Scotland and Madison avenues that was the "home of the ACPHS banner" for many years. With its flashing pinball machine, and against an endless background of "Mack the Knife" on the jukebox, the tavern functioned as a "home-away-from-home" for many students during their time at the College.

Toga party, 1979

There were always lots of informal parties at the many apartments in the surrounding neighborhood when students could chill listening to early '70s favorites such as James Taylor, POCO, Who's Next , and the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers, right up to the disco years of Saturday Night Fever , the wildly popular movie soundtrack released in 1977. Students also took full advantage of the rest of their neighborhood, hanging out at the brand new McDonald's on Hackett and Holland avenues or the Elbo Room on Delaware , dining at the U.N. Diner, gathering by the Moses fountain in Washington Park or at the newly dedicated Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza .

In spite of it all, there were repeated articles in Mortar and Pestle about student apathy, a trend that was reflected in colleges all over the country. By the end of the '70s , with enrollments dipping once again, also reflective of the nation at large, ACPHS got ready to face more tough challenges as it entered the '80s.