History of the College

The University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy got its beginnings above Gordon’s Drug Store at Eighth Street and Western Row in downtown Cincinnati. It was called the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy at this time. It was granted its charter by the Ohio Legislature on March 23, 1850. It was part of the Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association, which was founded 4 months prior to the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy. It was the first pharmacy college in the Midwest, and the 5th college of pharmacy established in the United States and it is the 4th oldest still in existence. This is also before the American Pharmaceutical Association (now called the American Pharmacists Association) was founded in 1852. The Cincinnati College of Pharmacy was clearly progressive and ahead of its time.

This was at a time when graduation from a pharmacy school was not required to be a pharmacist.  Most at this time learned how to be a pharmacist by serving as an apprentice with a pharmacist for a varying amount of time. Cincinnati pharmacists who had these apprentices recognized that they could only teach so much, and as science and medical knowledge was growing, there was much more for their apprentices to learn. 4 of these pharmacists established the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy. Classes were held in the evenings when apprentices were off duty from their work.

For a short time, there was another pharmacy college in Ohio as well. It was the Queen City College of Pharmacy.  It was purchased and consolidated with the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy in 1920.

It didn’t become part of the University of Cincinnati until 1954. The Cincinnati College of Pharmacy was experiencing financial hardship during this time, and ACPE (The accrediting body for pharmacy colleges) expressed concerns regarding its viability. The dean at the time, Joseph Kowalewski led the work on this merger with UC. At this time there were 74 pharmacy colleges in operation, and only 4 were independent (not affiliated with a university). Now called the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy, its new home was on UC’s campus in the Biology Building, which is now called Dyer Hall. The “pharmacy” entrance sign is still present in the stonework of the building.

The first post-BS PharmD Pharmacy students were enrolled in 1968.  This was at a time when the PharmD degree was not required to practice as a pharmacist. The college left main campus and moved to the medical campus in 1976.  Around this time the college’s graduate program was developing and the college awarded its first PhD degree in 1978.

In 1987 the college of pharmacy was one of 9 universities in the United States tat offered graduate training in cosmetic science and the only program that combined academic training with a cooperative work experience in research laboratories.

Further expansion occurred in 2000 with the addition of the College of Allied Health Sciences to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The College now occupies modernized spaces in the Health Professions Building and Wherry Hall.

A significant milestone took place on June 6, 2007, when the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Pharmacy was renamed the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. This naming was a tribute to Jim Winkle, an alumnus from the class of 1958, who had pledged $10 million to his alma mater from his estate or trust. Though the donation was made in 2005, it wasn't publicly acknowledged until 2007, per Winkle's request. This act marked only the second instance in UC's history of a college being named to honor a supporter.