PHARMACOLOGY IN THE NEW ERA OF HIGHER-EDUCATION - VIEW FROM THE USA

We are witnessing great changes in higher education in the USA, with p rofound implications for all of the biomedical sciences, including pha rmacology. Higher education from 1950 to approximately 1980 witnessed expansion of scientific knowledge and expertise, increased numbers of health professional schools, more revenues for support of education an d research, creation of new research institutes and growth of academic departments. We have now entered into a new era characterized by cont inuing expansion of knowledge, but with static or diminishing sizes an d possibly numbers of schools and institutes, shrinkage of revenues, s ubstitution of expertise and consolidation of departments. There have been many worthwhile scientific advances that should lead to new direc tions in education and research, but there are few resources available for supporting these new educational and research ventures. This arti cle by Thomas Barks is adapted from the annual Croker Lecture, which w as delivered at the 1994 meeting of the American Society for Pharmacol ogy and Experimental Therapeutics.