Historical Director
Lucas Richert became AIHP’s Historical Director in 2019. In this role, Lucas is responsible for the Institute’s historical programs and programming. He also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Pharmacy in History.
Lucas is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy and the George Urdang Chair in the History of Pharmacy. Lucas was awarded graduate degrees from the University of Edinburgh and University of London after beginning his academic studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to joining UW-Madison, he was a Lecturer and then a Chancellor’s Fellow in the University of Strathclyde’s Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare.
Read more at his official faculty page at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School Pharmacy web site.
Email: lucas.richert@wisc.edu
Twitter: @LucRichert
Phone: 608-890-3676
Executive Director
Dennis Birke became AIHP’s Executive Director in January 2019. In that role, Dennis serves as the chief executive officer of the Institute. He is responsible for executing the Institute’s strategic plans, managing the Institute’s financial affairs, programs, operations, and policies, and supervising the Institute’s staff.
Dennis joined AIHP in January 2018 as Administrative Director. Prior to joining AIHP, Dennis was an attorney at one of Madison’s largest law firms, where his practice included the representation of nonprofit organizations. Dennis also served as the President of the Olbrich Botanical Society, which provides funding and operational support for Olbrich Gardens, a nationally-renowned public garden owned by the City of Madison. He also served as the President of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, one of the largest Unitarian-Universalist congregations in the country and the owner of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meeting House, a National Historic Landmark. Dennis’ work with nonprofit organizations includes extensive experience with fundraising, membership development, and financial management.
Dennis earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Missouri (Columbia) and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Washington University School of Law.
Email: dennis.birke@aihp.org
Phone: 608-262-0251
Curator
Beth D. Fisher joined the AIHP in 1995. Prior to relocating to Madison, Beth was a project coordinator in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Arts and Humanities at the Smithsonian Institution. Beth began her museum career at the Detroit Institute of Arts and then the Kohl Children’s Museum in Wilmette, IL.
Beth moved to Washington, DC to attend graduate school, and she interned at the National Museum of American History registrar’s office. Beth earned a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Museum Studies at George Washington University.
Beth has served on the boards of the Wisconsin Federation of Museums and the University of Wisconsin Geology Museum. Beth authored A Guide to Pharmacy Museums and Historical Collections in the United States and Canada (now online). She also curates and maintains AIHP artifact and ephemera collections as well as historical exhibits in the UW School of Pharmacy.
Email: beth.fisher@aihp.org
Phone: 608-262-5378
Fischelis Scholar
Greg Higby retired as AIHP’s Executive Director at the end of 2018 and assumed his new position as Fischelis Scholar. In this new part-time role, Greg curates the Institute’s collection of reference materials, books, and artifacts. He also continues to teach the pharmacy history course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy.
Greg served as AIHP’s Executive Director from 1988 through 2018, after serving as Acting Director (1986-88), Associate Director (1985-86), Assistant Director (1984-85), and Assistant to the Director (1981-84). He received his BSc in Pharmacy from the University of Michigan and PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (under Glenn Sonnedecker). Greg served as the Editor of Pharmacy in History throughout his tenure as Executive Director.
Greg’s publications include the books, In Service to American Pharmacy: The Professional Life of William Procter, Jr. (1992) and The Spirit of Voluntarism: The United States Pharmacopeia 1820-1995 (co-authored with Lee Anderson). He has co-edited about another dozen books for the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy including Pill Peddlers, American Pharmacy: A Collection of Historical Essays, and Drugstore Memories.
Greg’s honors include the Edward Kremers Award, the Schelenz Medal, and the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumni Award. He was elected to the honorific International Academy of the History of Pharmacy in 1991.
Higby is a registered pharmacist in the state of Michigan. His hobbies include music (playing trombone and recorder), recreational biking, and watching English Premier League football.
Email: greg.higby@aihp.org
Phone: 608-262-5841
The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is documenting and preserving pharmacy stories and experiences during the COVID-19 global pandemic for the benefit of future historians and scholars. We seek to record the effects of this public health emergency on all types of pharmacy experiences. We invite you to share your pharmacy stories, photos, videos, artifacts, and other documentation of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.