Robert Phillip Fischelis 1891–1981: Pharmacy Activist

Abstract

In a career that spanned seven decades, Robert P. Fischelis was a pharmacist, educator, dean, association executive, and editor. In addition he served in the military and the U.S. Public Health Service and as an administrator in the War Production Board during World War II. With his array of experiences, Robert Fischelis's broad perspective of the profession led to a clear vision of the responsibilities and potential for a profession undergoing significant change. Many would argue that it was frequently Fischelis himself who was the change agent. In speaking at Fischelis's funeral in 1981, Glenn Sonnedecker, then director of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, noted that while Fischelis was an idealist, “his was no ivory-tower dream of a better society or better health system, however, but a goal toward which one worked, and expected others to work, in a dedicated, persistent, and tough-minded way. He was a bold thinker, who knew where he stood, and was ready to fight for what he thought the American pharmacist should represent.” 1. Sonnedecker G. Statement at the funeral Service for Robert P. Fischelis. University Archives, Heterick Memorial Library, Ohio Northern University, Sunday, October 18, 1981 Google Scholar