Columbia University College of Pharmacy - Apothekan Yearbook (New York, NY)

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FACULTY

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A PARTING MESSAGE Dr. Charles W. Ballard Dean As each successive class leaves the college the ob- vious question is — what lies ahead? For many years the answer has been that the graduates would be placed either in prac- ticing or industrial phar- macy with perhaps a few entering fields less closely aligned with pharmacy. What lies ahead for the graduates of 1942 can hardly be as readily pre- dicted. Since that mem- orable Monday when we gathered in the Lecture Hall to join with millions of other citizens of these United States in hearing the only possible answer to the events of the preceding day, uncertainty has been uppermost in every mind. We must now face the uncertainties of war in company with the populations of most nations on this earth. Each must play a part in the effort to transform these uncertainties into certainties for our people and those with whom we are allied. Undoubtedly some of you will enter or be called into the defense services and the duties assigned you may or may not be those for which you have prepared yourself. In either instance and especially the former, I urge you to so conduct yourselves as to strengthen pharmacy ' s claim to greater recogni- tion than has hitherto been accorded. I think you will find that the name of the University from which you receive your degrees commands respect in official circles but it also imposes an obligation upon you. Those not absorbed by the defense services will also be contributors to the common cause. Perhaps your role in this may not be as apparent as that of the pharmacist in uniform. Actually your effort is of equal importance. Modern armies and navies cannot be self-sustaining. Their efficiency is de- pendent upon the production efforts of civilian populations. In turn, the health of the civilian population is an important factor in their productive ability. As my association with you comes to an end, I am hoping that you will join with me in bringing about a return of the definition of our college as contained in its charter. By such a definition this college is you and me and every other graduate. Let us bring this about by keeping alive the associations of the past four years.