AIHP is saddened to learn of the death of former AIHP Council Member Grover C. Bowles, Jr., who passed away on June 23 at the age of 99. Bowles represented the American Pharmaceutical Association on the AIHP Council from 1991-2005. Bowles was for many years the Director of the Pharmacy Department at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and he was also a past president of the American Pharmaceutical Association, the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists, and the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education.
Bowles first joined AIHP in 1953 and remained a member in good standing for 66 years. He regularly attended meetings of the AIHP Council for fifteen years as the representative of APhA. Recently retired AIHP Executive Director Greg Higby fondly recalled Bowles’ “commitment to the pharmacy profession” and his dedication to serving on the Institute’s Council.
A 1942 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, Bowles was an early leader in hospital pharmacy, serving as the ninth president of the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists in 1952-53. He received ASHP’s prestigious Harvey A. K. Whitney Lecture Award in 1962.
Bowles was an active participant in several national pharmacy organizations. He was the President of the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1965-66 and then was APhA’s Treasurer for about a decade. In 1972, Bowles was the recipient of APhA’s Remington Medal, one of American pharmacy’s highest honors. From 1982-1986, he also served as the President of the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education. Throughout his professional career, Bowles taught at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, rising to the rank of Professor in 1979.
Please read ASHP’s complete obituary of Grover C. Bowles, Jr., for a full description of his long career of service to American pharmacy.
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June 11, 2025, 12:00 pm (Central): Influence and Cooperation: How British and US Pharmacopoeias shaped each other, 1720-1990
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Upcoming events of interest to pharmacists and historians of pharmacy, pharmaceuticals, medicines, science, and related fields.
November 13-16, 2025: History of Science Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
November 16-18, 2025: APhA Joint Federal Pharmacy Seminar 2025, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
December 7-11, 2025: ASHP Midyear, Las Vegas, NV.
July 18-21, 2026: AACP Pharmacy Education, Grapevine, TX.