The development of the College of Pharmacy, actually the fourth separate department in the University, is closely interwoven with that of the Department of Chemistry. Its history has already been in part suggested in the references to the growth of the Chemical Laboratory and the appointment of Dr. Prescott as the first Dean of the Department, or later, College, of Pharmacy. At first the study of chemistry was presented only in lectures and a few simple demonstrations. Dr. Douglas, however, was among the pioneers in this country in realizing that the way to teach the subject was to help the students perform their own experiments, and accordingly he established a small laboratory for special students in the Medical Building. From this grew the idea of a laboratory building which was finally completed in October, 1857, at a cost of $3,450, the first building erected in America for this purpose, with facilities which were, in President Tappan's words, "unsurpassed by anything of the kind in the country." Even then it proved almost at once too small, and a long series of enlargements came at intervals of about five years, until finally the new Chemistry Building was completed in 1910.
All the work in chemistry in the different Departments was, from the first, provided for in this building, with no distinction between academic and professional students except such as the special courses require. The work in pharmacy grew naturally with the Department of Chemistry. Following its establishment in 1868, the course eventually grew into a separate Department, which became independent in 1876. The school prospered under the wise and scholarly administration of its first Dean, Dr. Albert B. Prescott, and it was soon recognized as one of the best in the country. The early entrance requirements were only a good knowledge of the English language, but soon a high school course became requisite. The curriculum, which at first consisted of two years' work, was eventually lengthened to three years in 1917-18, leading to the degree of Ph.C; while for a regular four years' course a B.S. in Pharmacy is granted.
Upon the death of Dr. Prescott in 1905, Dr. Julius O. Schlotterbeck, '91, succeeded him as Dean of the College. Dr. Schlotterbeck died in 1917, and Professor Alviso B. Stevens, '75_p_, became Dean until his retirement in 1919.