Women's History at ACPHS
We’re honoring Women’s History Month by looking back at some of the pivotal moments here at ACPHS.
When the College opened its doors in 1881, seated among the inaugural class was Sarah Simonet. Simonet was the College’s first female graduate. She returned home to operate a general store and pharmacy with her husband. Eventually she would also earn her medical degree and become known as “lady physician” in her hometown in Upstate NY.
In 1900, the ACPHS Alumni Association took the then radical step when it decided to "invite ladies" to its banquet. "We have several women graduates among us, paying dues, whom we have no right to debar from the benefits of membership" read the minutes of the annual meeting.
Although the number of women at ACPHS continued to climb each year, in 1916 their presence was unusual enough to warrant the following comment in the yearbook: "Near the door sitting up on that shelf known to all (because it was here that 'Doc' Huested placed our checks, bills and love letters) were three girls." The "girls" included sisters, Loretta and Sarah Graney, and "our beloved Ruth 'Bill' Tafft," presumably nicknamed for former President William Howard Taft who had vacated the White House in 1913.
Women began to make their mark at the College during the decade; with only seven girls in the Class of 1916, junior class officers included Betty Noonan as Vice President and Marguerite Rebecca Griffin as Secretary. The first female teacher, Rena Henault '13, was hired in 1917. She assisted Professor Edwin Hutman '91 in the Pharmacy Lab and taught Microscopy and Pharmacognosy with Dr. T.W. Jenkins. Katherine Glavin, who worked at the College for decades, joined the staff as Registrar in 1918.
After a hiatus of a few years, the yearbook, formerly known as The Alembic, was revived in 1923 as The Pharmakon. Renamed The Alembic Pharmakon the following year, its pages are filled with candid photos of young women with bobbed hair, cloche hats, raccoon coats and short "flapper" dresses. Women students, who had gained the right to vote in 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, were busy showing off their new-found freedom and increasingly involved in the life and governance of the College.
In 1944, during World War II, there were 25 women at ACPHS, due to the Medical Technology program. This was the first time that ACPHS classes contained more women than men. Without their tuition dollars, the College probably would not have made it through the war years.
Fast forward to the end of the '70s and 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.
Over time, the number of women at ACPHS continued to increase until the Class of '88 boasted 65.7 percent women.
In 2022, Michelle Lewis was appointed to direct the Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training, the first center of its kind established by a traditional pharmacy and health sciences college in the United States.
On March 16, 2022, ACPHS announced the selection of the College’s 10th president, Toyin Tofade, MS, PharmD, BCPS, CPCC, FFIP. Dr. Tofade is the first Black woman to serve as president in the college’s 141-year history. We look forward to Dr. Tofade’s impact on the continued growth of ACPHS, and her work to achieve the college’s mission of educating the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society.