The History of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
In 1882, the Ontario College of Pharmacy (now Pharmacists) began operating the pharmacy school that ultimately became part of the University of Toronto in 1953.
Much has changed over the subsequent 137 years. Initially, the focus was on training for a trade by mastering primarily manual techniques that occurred primarily in the pharmacy. Today, the emphasis is on providing theoretical study that embraces generalized principles and applying those skills to real-world situations. This helps to equip our graduates with the skills required to meet the present needs of the profession, and gives them the foundation upon which future growth can be developed..
The Ontario College of Pharmacy offered the first baccalaureate degree in pharmacy in 1948, and the first graduate degree was offered in 1953 when the University of Toronto assumed responsibility for providing pharmacy education in Ontario. In 2001, a bridging program for internationally-trained pharmacists was developed. In 2005, the Office of Continuous Professional Development began offering courses and we now partner with University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies to provide ongoing learning opportunities.
In 2001, the Faculty was renamed the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy in honour of alumnus Leslie Dan, who donated $13 million to ensure that the Faculty continued to grow and blossom into a worldwide leader in pharmacy education and research.
In 2011, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy introduced a new undergraduate curriculum that addresses the changing role of the pharmacist in health care by including integrated pharmacotherapy modules, critical appraisal, interprofessional education, electives and experiential training in all four years of the program.