History

• 1891 - 1930

  The College of Pharmacy was founded in 1924 and stabilized a turbulent history of pharmaceutical education in Detroit, resulting from Civil War veterans deluging the city. Although there were hundreds of drugstores in operation, many pharmacists had no technical training beyond apprenticeship. Originally part of City College, the three-year pharmacy program was housed in the new Central High School Building, now known as Old Main.

  1891 - Detroit College of Medicine offers first degree program in Pharmaceutical Chemistry.

  1905 - Department of Pharmacy of Detroit College of Medicine closed abruptly.

  1907 - Detroit Technological Institute (DIT) offers two-year training in practical pharmacy; William Humphries Allen named Dean.

  1915 - John C. Moore, (MA Columbia 1911), appointed head of Science Department at Cass Technical High School; taught practical pharmacy with Frederick T. Bradt (UM 1916) and Ernest C. Crandall (UM 1919).

  1918 - Detroit Institute of Technology grants degrees in Pharmaceutical chemistry; Ernest R. Jones (Dr. Pharm. Mass 1911) appointed dean. 1921 State legislature requires a four-year high school diploma for pharmacy licensure.

  1924 - Detroit Board of Education establishes College of Pharmacy at Cass Tech as part of the College of the City of Detroit; Roland Lakey appointed Dean.

  1925 - College of Pharmacy moves to Old Main Building and first graduating class of five pharmaceutical chemists (PhC) includes one woman, Katie Moy Lim.

  1927 - Mu Omicron Pi chapter of Kappa Psi installed at Detroit Institute of Technology.

  1928 - In September, XI Chapter of Rho Pi Phi was installed at the College of Pharmacy of the City of Detroit.

  1930 - Four-year BS program in Pharmacy established; Omicron Chapter of Lambda Kappa Sigma Sorority installed.

• 1933 - 1960

  1933 - Board of Education unites College of Pharmacy, Detroit Teacher's College, Detroit Law School, Engineering School and College of the City of Detroit into a University.

  1934 - Named Wayne University.

  1935 - College of Pharmacy moves to 625 Mullet Street.

  1936 - Through Dean Roland Lakey's endeavors, the Graduate School awards Maison G. DeNavare (nee Edward Maicki) a Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry; a four-year course leading to a BS in Medical Technology is approved.

  1939 - College of Pharmacy receives full accreditation from the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education; University establishes collaboration with proprietary Michigan College of Mortuary Science.

  1943 - Mortuary Science became a unit of Wayne State University, School of Business Administration as the first three-year program offered in the United States.

  1944 - Occupational Therapy is first offered as a special education program, leading to either academic certificate or to a BS Degree; Occupational Therapy became an accredited program in 1946.

  1945 - First Master's program in Pharmaceutical Chemistry; University formally petitioned to establish program in Mortuary Science; Medical Technology program originated in College of Liberal Arts.

  1947 - First Master's program in Pharmacognosy; The Student Branch of American Pharmaceutical Association formed in October.

  1951 - Pharmacy College moves back to WSU Old Main building; XI Chapter of Detroit Institute of Technology installed Phi Chapter of Alpha Zeta Omega (AZO) at Wayne University.

  1952 - Dedication of Pharmacy Laboratory donated by Parke Davis & Co.

  1953 - Dean Roland T. Lakey retires as Dean after 28 years, succeeded by Stephen Wilson (PhDPittsburgh); Master's Degree in Pharmacology established; in April, Alpha Chi Chapter of Rho Chi was installed.

  1954 - The Industrial Medicine and Hygiene Department established.

  1956 - Occupational Therapy becomes a separate department in the College of Liberal Arts, and Wayne University becomes Wayne State University.

  1957 - Wayne State University College of Pharmacy merges with Detroit Institute of Technology Pharmacy Program; MS in Pharmaceutics established; and Mortuary Science located at 627 W. Alexandrine.

  1959 - BS in Mortuary Science initiated.

  1960 - BS Pharmacy program extended to five years.

• 1963-1990

  Over the years, the college has benefited from close relationships with outstanding individuals. Nate Shapero, founder of Cunningham Drugstores and known as "Mister Pharmacy" during the 1950s, has been credited with helping more people enter the pharmacy profession "than any other man in the world." *Wayne State University recognized Nate Shapero in 1965 by naming a new College of Pharmacy building on the main campus. When the college moved off campus to a location just off the Chrysler Service Drive, the building was known as Shapero Hall.

  In 1974, the College of Pharmacy merged with the Division of Allied Health to form a specialized institution devoted to educating the modern health care team. Mortuary Science, which originated as a unit of the School of Business Administration in 1943, evolved into a separate department and eventually became part of the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions in 1985.

  1963 - Dean Wilson dies; Occupational Therapy moves to School of Medicine; PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences authorized.

  1964 - Martin Barr named dean; Physical Therapy and Medical Technology become part of the School of Medicine.

  1965 - College of Pharmacy moves to new Shapero Hall building on main campus; Department of Industrial Medicine and Hygiene renamed Occupational and Environmental Health (OEH).

  1969 - MS in Occupational Therapy, Professional BS Program in Physical Therapy established.

  1970 - Post Baccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy program initiated.

  1971 - Allied Health division formed in School of Medicine.

  1972 - Dr. Willis Moore is named Interim Dean; Nurse Anesthesia is added to Allied Health Division.

  1973 - College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Professions formed and Dr. Eberhard F. Mammen named Dean.

  1975 - College is too large for main campus building and moves to 1400 Chrysler.

  1976 - Radiation Therapy Technology established.

  1979 - Occupational & Environmental Health Department joins the College.

  1982 - Mortuary Science joins Allied Health division, Martin Barr resumes as Dean.

  1983 - Departments of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences formed. 

  1984 - College Building at 1400 Chrysler is renamed Shapero Hall.

  1986 - Cytotechnology BS in Medical Technology initiated.

  1987 - Dr. Hanley N. Abramson (1962) named as Interim Dean.

  1988 - Dr. George C. Fuller (1959, 1961) named as Dean.

  1990 - Wynefred Schumann, MS (1990) named Assistant Dean Student Affairs.

• 1991-2007

  Tremendous leaps in health care technology took place in the last decades of the twentieth century, as well as an increase in the need for more health science professionals. In the early 1990s, Wayne State University determined that Shapero Hall could not support an increasing enrollment, nor be economically retrofitted with the technology required for a modern health care education. The university proposed to the State of Michigan that it become a partner in creating a new facility to house the college's programs. In 1998, citing the importance of the college's programs to Michigan, the state allocated $48.2 million to a new facility, predicated on the university's commitment to raise $16.1 million from private sources. Eugene Applebaum, a 1960 alumnus of the college's pharmacy program and the founder of Arbor Drug Stores, came forward with a lead gift of $5 million and agreed to chair the college's capital campaign.

  1991 - Mortuary Science initiates Anatomic Pathologists Assistant (APA) program.

  1992 - OEH renamed Occupational & Environmental Health Sciences (OEHS).

  1994 - Medical Technology renamed Clinical Laboratory Science to clearly reflect the professional responsibility.

  1995 - Physicians Assistant Studies (PAS) program and department established.

  1996 - Michigan Legislature authorizes funds for new building on Detroit Medical Center campus.

  1999 G- roundbreaking for new College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Professions.

  2000 - Eberhard F. Mammen, MD named Interim Dean.

  2001 - College renamed as the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in recognition of alumnus Eugene Applebaum's lead gift of $5 million toward the construction of a new building, as well as his leadership and accomplishments as a pharmacist and entrepreneur.
  
  Beverly J. Schmoll, PT, PhD, FAPTA, named dean.

  2002 - College dedicates new facility on Mack Avenue at John R Street; Howard Normile, PhD named Associate Dean; first class admitted to entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy; dedication of CVS/pharmacy laboratory.

  2003 - Nine academic departments restructured as four academic departments; Richard Slaughter, MSnamed Assistant Dean Accreditation & Assessment; Graduate Certificate in Analytical Toxicology approved.

  2004 - Eberhard F. Mammen Science/Technology Endowment of $1.5 million established; Michael Rybak, PharmD, MPH, named Associate Dean for Research; Masters in Public Health with a specialization in Occupational and Environmental Health in collaboration with the Department of Community Medicine approved.

  2005 - The public phase of Wayne First: The Campaign for Wayne State University, was launched. The Doctor of Physical Therapy degree and the transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy degree programs approved. The Graduate Certificate in Environmental Health and Hazardous Materials Control approved.  Bachelor of Science in Radiology Therapy Technology returns to the college after five-year absence.

  2006 - Radiologic Technology program moves from a hospital-based certificate to baccalaureate degree program, a partnership between WSU and Henry Ford Hospital, in EACPHS.

  2007 - Joint PharmD/PhD program in the Departments of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences approved, enabling a student to complete both degrees in a minimum of 7 years. 

• 2008 - 2021

  The new facility at 259 Mack Avenue opened in May 2002 featuring 270,000 square feet of learning and research space. It is designed to accept new technology as quickly as it is discovered. An article appearing in The Michigan Real Estate Journal stated, "When future historians write the 'wired' history of metro Detroit, they may well date the beginning of the local connectivity revolution back to April 2002 and put its location on Mack Avenue and John R." Smart classrooms, the CVS/pharmacy Professional Practice Laboratory, distance learning classrooms, the Ford Motor Company Environmental Exposure Laboratory and an exceptional learning resource center are just some of the facility's features. A key improvement is that the new facility brings all but three departments under one roof. Mortuary Science, Pathologists' Assistant, and Clinical Laboratory Science have their own facility on Woodward Avenue. In recognition of Mr. Applebaum's generosity, leadership and outstanding accomplishments as a pharmacist, businessman and entrepreneur, the Wayne State University Board of Governors voted in 2001 to name the college the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

  2008- Beverly J. Schmoll, PT, PhD, FAPTA resigns as dean.  Associate Dean Howard J. Normile, PhD appointed interim dean.

  2009 - Lloyd Y. Young, PharmD,  a past chair and professor for the  Department of Clinical Pharmacy University of California, San Francisco, appointed dean of the college. Assumed appointment on Aug. 17.

  2010 - Deepak K. Bhalla, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, appointed Associate Dean of Research for the college, effective Oct. 1.

  2014 - Lloyd Y. Young, PharmD, resigns as dean. Cathy Lysack, PhD appointed interim dean.

  2016 - Serrine Lau, PhD, appointed dean of the college.

  2017 - Serrine Lau, PhD, resigns as dean. Deepak K. Bhalla, PhD appointed interim dean.

  2018 - Deepak K. Bhalla appointed dean of the college.

  2018 - Cathy Lysack, PhD, appointed interim dean after untimely death of Deepak K. Bhalla.

  2021 - Brian Cummings, PhD, appointed dean of the college as of Aug. 1.