The American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education is now in its 75th year of continuous publication. It started in 1937 after 24 years of publication as the Proceedings of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. In the first issue of volume 1, AACP President Robert C. Wilson's annual meeting address spoke about “the problems confronting American pharmacy, for the existence of which and for the solutions of which the schools of pharmacy must assume a large share of the responsibility.” His address is republished in this issue, along with an introduction to the Journal by the first editor, Rufus A. Lyman. Dean Wilson's comments mirror the thinking of his time and many are still relevant today. The legacy articles present an interesting view of the era in which they were published and demonstrate the direct link from that era of pharmacy education to the present.
The Journal is an archive of all the advances in pharmacy education— the struggles, the controversies, and the details of many instructional innovations by pharmacy faculty members. It documents the rationale for decisions to change pharmacy education to the bachelor of science (BS) degree (4 years and then 5 years), the conversion to the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) as the entry degree to the profession, and the change from a product to a patient focus. The Journal both reflects and documents many other changes since 1937 including greater participation by women and people from ethnic and cultural minorities in pharmacy, as well as the rise in contributions from international authors. It is all here in the pages of the Journal.
The longevity and vitality of the Journal is a testament to the relevance and creativity of pharmacy educators over 75 years. The Journal today is quite different from its 1937 version. It reaches an international audience of pharmacy educators, is published online in 10 issues, and averages approximately 25,000 unique viewers each issue. However, some things have not changed: a spirited exchange of ideas through articles, editorials, and letters, and a strong commitment to improving pharmacy education. The mission of the Journal remains “to document and advance pharmaceutical education.” The Journal thrives today because of the solid foundation established by 5 previous editors: Rufus A. Lyman (19 years), Melvin R. Gibson (5 years), C. Boyd Granberg (14 years), Marvin M. Malone (5 years), and George H. Cocolas (22 years), and many editorial board members, reviewers, and authors. The Journal also has benefited greatly from the foresight and leadership of the AACP Board of Directors and the Association staff.
The Journal now publishes about 150 peer-reviewed articles each year in 10 issues (increased from about 60 articles in 4 issues in 2003), plus editorials, letters, book reviews, and reports from the Association. Also, the Journal operation is a much larger enterprise than it was a few years ago. In addition to the editor, there are 3 associate editors, a senior assistant editor, and a part-time assistant editor. The Journal contracts with vendor services for manuscript handling, document coding, and Web hosting. During the 75th anniversary year the Journal will continue to grow and change with the launch of a new Web site that will feature a more sophisticated layout, intuitive site navigation links, a powerful advanced search engine, extensive reference linking, and the ability for readers to submit comments on articles.
To recognize the Association and the achievement of 75 years of publication in pharmacy education, the Journal will be celebrated throughout 2011. In most issues of 2011, we will republish legacy articles from the first few volumes of AJPE. The celebration will culminate at the Annual Meeting of AACP in July 2011 in San Antonio, Texas.
More than 700 individuals each year actively contribute to the Journal through their service as editors, editorial board members, or reviewers, and/or through their contributions as authors. This strong “ownership” of the Journal by the profession it serves gives the Journal great prospects for 75 more years of leading pharmacy education.