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With 42 years in higher education and 50 years in the pharmacy profession, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy (SOP) Professor Emerita Terri Poirier, PharmD, MPH, has consistently held a passion for the history of pharmacy leadership. That passion led the senior scholar to design an asynchronous elective course on the subject after her retirement in spring 2021.

Poirier began with identifying four pharmacy leaders to take part in a panel discussion via Zoom but decided to record interviews instead. She asked each a series of questions on their journeys into leadership, what legacy they had created, what advice they would offer students, and how COVID-19 would shape the profession.

“From there, the project snowballed,” Poirier said. “Someone would mention another leader who had shaped their careers, and I would ask to be put in contact with them. Everyone I contacted was more than willing to participate. Because of the pandemic, people were home and available because no one was traveling. This was a silver lining to the pandemic.”

Over the course of three months, Poirier recorded interviews with 57 pharmacy leaders and realized early in the process that these needed to be shared beyond the course she was creating. A colleague suggested she contact the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP) and request the interviews be added to the organization’s digital archives.

In response to Poirier’s work, the AIHP recently awarded her with a certificate of commendation, which recognizes activities or historical endeavors that advance knowledge or understanding of the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals or utilize the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals to address or advance understanding of contemporary issues.

“I was happy I could contribute in this way and in my semi-retirement,” Poirier said. “It’s extremely important, because these interviews trace the history of the transformation of pharmacy practice and education from a drug product focus to a patient-care focus.”

The interviews reaffirmed Poirier’s beliefs about leadership, recognizing the common traits interviewees shared such as passion, commitment, ethics, integrity, work ethic and willingness to seize opportunities. According to Poirier, the course is already impacting her students’ views on leadership and the importance of history. Thanks to the AIHP digital archives, students and professionals around the world can be equally impacted.

“It’s rewarding to put this together,” Poirier said. “People have interviewed pharmacy leaders, but this project is setting the precedence of what we can do in terms of recording our evolution. Technology allows us to bring people from all over the world into classrooms to speak to students.”

Photo: SIUE School of Pharmacy (SOP) Professor Emerita Terri Poirier, PharmD, MPH.