1937
The American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education was first published in 1937 by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) under the editorship of Rufus A. Lyman, MD. Dr. Lyman was instrumental on a national level in strengthening the pharmacy profession. He believed that the time had come for “a journal devoted exclusively to the problems of pharmaceutical education and its administration.” The newly established Journal served as a platform and unifying force for pharmacy faculty members, as well as documented the proceedings of AACP and became a voice for its membership.
1956
Melvin T. Gibson, at Washington State University, assumed editorship of the Journal.
1961
C. Boyd Granberg, Drake University, assumed editorship of the Journal.
1969
The Rufus A. Lyman Award, named after the founding editor, was established to recognize the best paper published in the previous year in the Journal. The AACP president appoints a selection committee to evaluate the nominated papers and select the one that has made the greatest contribution to pharmacy education for that year. The award has been presented every year since.
1975
Marvin H. Malone, University of the Pacific, assumed editorship of the Journal.
1980
George H. Cocolas, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assumed editorship of the Journal. Cocolas was a quiet man but a leader in the Academy and well respected by his peers. His successor, Joseph T. DiPiro, PharmD, would later observe that it was during Dr. Cocolas’ tenure as editor that the Journal became “the internationally recognized voice of pharmacy education.” Dr. Cocolas served as editor of the Journal for 22 years, the longest of any AJPE editor to date.
1986
The Journal celebrated its 50th anniversary.
2002
The last printed issue of the Journal was mailed to subscribers and the Journal entered a new phase.
2003
Joseph T. DiPiro, PharmD, then at the University of Georgia, assumed editorship of the Journal and was tasked with moving the Journal into the 21st century. The time-consuming, paper-based system of managing the peer-review process was replaced with an electronic database and email. A website was launched, and the first online, open-access issue of the Journal was published in January 2003. Along with the move to publishing online, the number of issues was expanded from four to six per year.
2004
The move to an open-access, online publishing quickly led to a significant increase in manuscript submissions. The first associate editors, Gayle A. Brazeau, PhD, and Jack E. Fincham, PhD, were appointed to help manage the growing Journal. The editorial board increased to 20 members.
2005
Editorial Manager, an online system for streamlining manuscript submission and peer review was introduced to AJPE authors and reviewers.
2006
The Journal was accepted to PubMed, the online version of Index Medicus.
2008
The Journal appointed its first international associate editor, Claire Anderson, PhD, from the University of Nottingham, UK.
2009
The Journal expanded to eight issues per year.
2010
To keep up with the growing demand, the Journal increased its frequency to 10 issues per year.
2011
A new website was launched and the Journal celebrated its 75th anniversary.
2014
Dr. DiPiro resigned after serving as the Journal's editor for 12 years.
Gayle A. Brazeau, PhD, then dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of New England, was named Journal editor. Dr. Brazeau, who had served as associate editor for the Journal for more than 10 years, became the first woman in the history of the Journal to hold this position. Under Dr. Brazeau’s leadership, the Journal continues to grow and achieve significant milestones. Frank Romanelli, PharmD, and Adam Persky, PhD, join the Journal's editorial team as associate editors.
2015
Lauren Schlesselman, MA Ed Psych, PharmD, joins the Journal's editorial team as associate editor. The editorial team held the first annual Joseph T. DiPiro Excellence in Publishing workshop at AACP's annual meeting. The workshop provided authors with an overview of the essentials of excellence when submitting manuscripts to AJPE.
2017
The Journal starts offering published-ahead-of-print/early release for accepted manuscripts to be published online ahead of their scheduled final publication. Frank Romanelli, PharmD, becomes the Journal's executive associate editor. Daniel Malcom, PharmD, joins the Journal's editorial team as associate editor.
2019
Melissa Medina, EdD, joins the Journal's editorial team as associate editor.
2020
A redesigned website was launched and the Journal moved to a monthly frequency. Its Editorial Board also expanded to 24 individuals. The Journal's Impact Factor continues to rise. Its 2019 Impact Factor is 2.398, a significant jump from its 2018 Impact Factor of 1.737, and its 2017 Impact Factor of 1.495.