Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
November,  1920.  ) 
The  Professor. 
807 
knowledge  to  his  more  or  less  receptive  students.  Millions  have 
been  invested  and  invested  to  good  purpose  in  physical  equipment 
for  education.  So  important  is  this  equipment  deemed  that  this 
Conference  has  seen  fit  to  fix  a  minimum  standard  in  this  respect 
for  the  schools  and  colleges  of  pharmacy  which  constitute  its  mem- 
bership. And  who  would  contend  that  this  standard  which  the 
Conference  has  set,  is  without  value? 
But  educational  bodies  including  the  Conference  have  gone 
further.  They  have  in  a  way  standardized  the  student — at  least 
they  have  set  up  certain  entrance  requirements  to  ensure,  on  his 
part,  a  proper  preparation  for  his  college  work.  This  also  was  good 
common  sense  and  made  for  real  progress  in  pharmaceutical  educgr- 
tion. 
The  evolution  of  the  log  having  eventuated  so  splendidly  and 
the  matter  of  entrance  requirements  being  definitely  settled  there 
are  those  who  now  make  inquiry  why  this  very  conspicuous  educa- 
tional advancement  has  not  brought  results  which  are  commensurate 
with  the  progress  made.  We  may  answer  and  furnish  evidence  to 
substantiate  our  statement  that  there  has  been  in  very  fact  a  con- 
siderable gain.  Not  that  the  best  men  of  our  present  classes  are 
necessarily  better  than  the  best  men  of  the  past — but  the  average 
is  better  and  the  poorest  of  the  present-day  graduates  show  a 
marked  improvement  over  the  poorest  of  the  earlier  classes.  Despite 
this  distinct  gain  there  is,  to  be  sure,  still  much  room  for  improvement 
in  our  schools  of  pharmacy.  We  are  convinced,  however,  that  the 
next  conspicuous  advance  in  the  schools  of  this  Conference  will  not 
result  primarily  from  further  elaboration  of  material  equipment, 
nor  will  it  be  due  to  the  adoption  of  still  higher  entrance  requirements ; 
it  will  result  rather  from  improvements  in  the  curricula  and  in  the 
development  of  higher  efficiency  in  the  art  of  teaching.  After  all, 
the  professor  is  the  all-important  factor  in  the  educational  mechanism. 
His  personality  will  compensate  for  a  lack  in  teaching  facilities;  his 
inefficiency  can  render  almost  worthless  the  finest  equipment. 
The  particular  service  of  this  Conference  has  in  the  past  been 
largely  in  the  matter  of  fixing  standards — standards  for  equipment, 
standards  for  entrance  requirements,  standards  for  the  faculties 
from  the  standpoint  of  numerical  strength.  And  when  we  proceed 
to  take  up  seriously  the  most  complicated  educational  problem  of 
all,  namely  the  professor,  the  first  step  suggested  will  no  doubt  be 
the  establishing  of  standards  with  reference  to  his  academic  titles, 
