Pharmacy was established in 1963 within the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Otago. The Head of Pharmacology, Professor Fred Fastier, took administrative responsibility for much of that first decade. In 1971, the first Professor of Pharmacy, Dr Harry Taylor, was appointed and, under his stewardship, the Department developed a reputation for excellence in the pharmaceutical sciences and technology. The intake to the pharmacy degree course was limited to around 20-25 students and progress was severely hampered by the small faculty (no more than about half a dozen) and by relatively poor accommodation in temporary facilities behind and to the side of the Dental School.
In 1981 Professor Taylor retired and, as his successor, Professor Donald Perrier, from the USA, was appointed. He set about improving the situation for the Department of Pharmacy, in that, under his leadership:
- The Department of Pharmacy was transferred from the Faculty of Science to the Faculty of Medicine.
- The Department of Pharmacy was physically relocated into significantly better accommodation on the fourth floor of the Adams Building.
- The Bachelor of Pharmacy degree course was restructured to recognise the increasing importance of pharmacy practice elements rather than, predominantly, the pharmaceutical sciences.
Professor Perrier was appointed as Dean, School of Pharmacy, University of Toronto in January 1986 and his successor, Professor Michael Roberts, took up his duties in the University of Otago in 1986. He continued the consolidation of Pharmacy Practice, especially Clinical Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacokinetics with associated research, mainly in the latter discipline. Introduction of the postgraduate distance taught courses for the Certificate in Pharmacy Practice (no longer available), Diplomas in Hospital Pharmacy/Pharmacy Practice and Master of Pharmacy (Clinical Pharmacy/Pharmacy Practice) degrees were major developments that took place in 1987 under Professor Roberts' enthusiastic leadership. He resigned to take up a full-time research position in Queensland in 1989. The School was one of the leaders of early Distance Learning within the University.
In 1989, the Minister of Education announced his decision to site all pharmacy education at the University of Otago, which led to the closure of the larger-intake, Diploma qualification-awarding School at the Central Institute of Technology in 1991. Professor Peter Coville, appointed in 1989, became Dean of the School of Pharmacy in 1991, and was succeeded by Professor Ian Tucker in 1999. Intake to the School of Pharmacy in the University has increased to its present level of 120 students per year.
During the intervening years, Clinical Pharmacy moved from strength to strength and Social Pharmacy became established as a new discipline with leadership provided by a new appointment of Australasia’s first Professor of Social Pharmacy. The discipline of Social Pharmacy has now completely replaced the former discipline of pharmacy practice.
In 2009 the School increased its intake of international students with a cohort starting from Malaysia. This cohort of students studying at Otago under a scholarship from Malaysia will complete their internship in Malaysia where they will practice. The total undergraduate numbers are now approximately 145.
In 2010, Professor Ian Tucker stepped down from the Dean’s position and now holds a position as Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Professor Stephen Duffull, Chair in Clinical Pharmacy, took over as Dean of the School.