For Immediate Release

Contact: John M. Martino
Phone Number:  (215) 895-1186
Date: 10/26/00

University Of The Sciences In Philadelphia Dedicates Misher College Of Arts And Sciences

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia recently dedicated and renamed its College of Arts and Sciences in honor of its former president, Dr. Allen Misher. The Misher College of Arts and Sciences will reflect Dr. Misher’s many contributions to USP, which included enhancing the school’s general education and expanding the role of the humanities and social sciences in a science-based curriculum. USP also announced that it will host an annual lecture series to continue the legacy of Dr. Misher. On Wednesday, October 25, U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky came to USP’s campus as the first Misher Visiting Professor of the Humanities. Pinsky conducted a lecture, poetry reading and book signing as part of the daylong Misher College dedication festivities.

USP President Dr. Gerbino, who succeeded Dr. Misher, said that the entire USP community has benefited from the efforts of Dr. Misher. "Allen Misher’s vision and passion for education in the humanities and social sciences led to the expansion of the curriculum for all USP students," said Dr. Gerbino. "The Misher Visiting Professor of the Humanities program, funded through an endowment, will allow the University to invite internationally known scholars such as Mr. Pinsky to participate in our curriculum for a semester, a series of lectures or seminars or individual presentations."

As president of Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science for 11 years, Dr. Misher contributed greatly to the institution’s evolution into University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He transformed the institution’s primarily commuter campus into one in which residential life and extracurricular activities played a larger role in student development, and presided over an era of unprecedented growth in the humanities and social sciences curriculum. His appointment of the first Dean of Arts and Sciences in 1984 led to the founding of the College that is being dedicated in his honor.

Dr. Misher received his Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1964 and his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy summa cum laude from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.

He returned to lead his alma mater after two decades in the pharmaceutical industry. In 1964, he joined SmithKline Corp. as a senior pharmacologist, and subsequently assumed positions of increasing responsibility including director of pharmacology; vice president of research, U.S. Pharmaceutical Products; vice president of manufacturing; president of SmithKline Medical Diagnostics Group; and group vice president. In 1982, he joined National Medical Care Inc. as senior vice president.

Dr. Misher serves on the board of directors of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, as well as on the boards of Synthes-Stratec Inc., Litmus Concepts Inc. and Cytometrics Inc.

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