Campus Community

Then and Now: A 50-Year Look Back

We’re looking back 50 years and seeing just how much our Hawks have changed!

A film roll with six pictures showing Saint Joseph's 50 years ago and today

Written by: Paige Verrillo, MS ’25

Spring 2025

Total reading time: 1 minute

The year is 1975. Childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen found a computer software company, better known as Microsoft. The Vietnam War comes to an end after two long decades of conflict. The most prestigious event in golf, the Masters, welcomes its first Black golfer, Lee Elder. And "Jaws," that movie about the great white shark terrorizing a New England resort town, is released in theaters.

As for our Hawks? 1975 marks five years of Saint Joseph’s admitting women as full-time students. Harry Booth, then the University’s men’s basketball head coach, goes on to compile a record of 140-80-5, the third highest victory total in SJU history. And three years later, the Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognizes Saint Joseph’s as a University.

Let’s go on a journey back to 1975 and see how much our Hawks have changed over 50 years!

Academics

Biology student working on the Crown Gall project in the science laboratory

Then: Biology student Stefanie Marabella, BS ’79, working on the Crown Gall project (a bacterial disease affecting plants) in the science laboratory.

Female pharmaceutical science and healthcare major, working in the organic chemistry lab on a melting point apparatus.

Now: Laura Tran, BS ’27, pharmaceutical science and healthcare major, working in the organic chemistry lab on a melting point apparatus.

Black and white photo of English Professor in class with his students

Then: English Professor Joseph J. Feeney, S.J., in class with his students. Fr. Feeney taught at St. Joe’s from 1971-2016 and was loved by students and colleagues alike. He passed in 2023 at the age of 88.

Now: Students taking business classes in Mandeville Hall. The University has grown to include five schools spanning the liberal arts, business, education and human development, health professions and allied health, and nursing.

Black and white photo of a nurse filling up IV bag

Then: A nursing student in the surgical unit of the Lancaster General Hospital checking on an IV bag.

Recent photo of female nurse filling up an IV bag

Now: A student at Saint Joseph’s in Lancaster, formerly Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences.

Student Life

Black and White photo of Saint Joseph’s Theatre Company performing “Antigone.”

Then: The Cap and Bells Dramatic Arts Society (now Saint Joseph’s Theatre Company) performing “Antigone.” The organization has been a part of St. Joe’s for over 100 years.

Current photo of Saint Joseph's theatre company performing "Godspell"

Now: Saint Joseph’s Theatre Company performing “Godspell.” Today, the company produces three performances a year and supports 30 students annually with scholarship awards.

Then: Two students sitting on the lawn under pine trees on Hawk Hill. Saint Joseph’s City Avenue location became home to students in 1927 after a move from Stiles Street in Philadelphia.

Now: Two students sitting on adirondack chairs on Hawk Hill, one of the University’s now three locations.

Black and white photo of female student checking out book in library

Then: A student in the Drexel Library checking out books at the circulation desk.

Current female student checking out book in library

Now: Melanie DiDomenico Hernandez, BA ’25, checks out a book from library technician Martha VanAuken. The library houses 355,000 volumes, 1,450 print and 15,000 electronic journals, 2,800 e-books, 866,000 microforms and 4,975 audio-visual materials.

Campus Community

A female student is studying in her residence

Then: From Gest Hall to Greaton, Hawkins to Hogan, students lived in small dormitories across campus. Here, a student is studying in her residence.

Female student reading a book in her dorm, laying on her bed

Now: Today, many of the smaller residences of yesteryear have turned into academic and administrative spaces, while residences like Sister Thea Bowman Hall, a 500-student first-year residence, have been built to accommodate a larger student body.

Black and white photo of Saint Joseph's Drexel Library in 1975

Then: Drexel Library in the spring of 1975. Ground broke on the space in 1961 and it was dedicated in 1962.

Current photo of Saint Joseph's expanded Drexel Library

Now: Students walking to class past the library. The extension to the right of the original structure — the John and Maryanne Hennings Post Learning Commons — was completed in 2012, adding 35,000 square feet to the Drexel Library.

Black and white photo of Griffith Hall at the University of the Sciences (then known as the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science)

Then: In 1975, Griffith Hall at the University of the Sciences (then known as the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science) was the main building for the nation's first college of pharmacy.

Now: Griffith Hall is the oldest building at Saint Joseph’s University City location. Named for distinguished pharmacist Ivor Griffith, it is home to two large lecture halls and the Marvin Samson Museum for the History of Pharmacy.

Athletics

Black and white photo of Saint Joseph's men's basketball team

Then: Led by Head Coach Harry Booth, the St. Joseph’s College varsity men’s basketball team gave their best performance on the court this year as the team ventured into the ECAC holiday festival and the Lafayette tournament.

Group photo of Saint Joseph's current men's basketball team in Big 5 championship

Now: After a Big 5 Classic win in 2024, the men's basketball team is 22-12 in 2025, their most wins in a season since 2015-16.

Black and White photo of Saint Joseph’s women's rowing team

Then: The women’s crew team was founded in the spring of the 1975-1976 academic year. At the time, Saint Joseph’s and the University of Pennsylvania had the only female collegiate crew teams in Philadelphia.

Now: The women’s rowing team capped off the 2024 fall season at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta with a gold medal in the Women’s Championship pair and six top 10 finishes.

Then: Hawks from the 1975 baseball team in front of Barbelin Hall. Head Coach Barry Kirsch (second from right) remains in the top five for coaching victories in program history.

Three male baseball players standing next to each other wearing St. Joe's uniform

Now: Members of the 2024/2025 baseball team. Left to right: Jack Saker, BS ’29, Blake Primrose, BS ’29, and Alex Venezia, BS ‘29.

Black and white photo of Saint Joseph's women's basketball team from 1974-76

Then: The St. Joseph’s College women’s basketball team was led by Head Coach Theresa Grentz from 1974-1976 with an overall record of 27-5.

Group photo of Saint Joseph's current women's basketball team

Now: The women’s basketball team, led by Head Coach Cindy Griffin, consists of 14 Hawks coming from various states within the U.S., as well as international players from countries like Canada, Denmark, Latvia, Sweden and Australia.

Campus Community

ArtiPhacts

Take a sneak peek into one of North America’s largest collections of pharmacy artifacts in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy’s Marvin Samson Museum for the History of Pharmacy.

Group of pharmacy artifacts lined up with Philadelphia College of Pharmacy building behind it

Written by: Diane Holliday

Published: March 6, 2025

Total reading time: 5 minutes

Tucked away in Saint Joseph’s Griffith Hall is the Marvin Samson Museum for the History of Pharmacy. A row of hand-tooled oak apothecary cabinets dating back to the late 19th century flank its walls, displaying artifacts that bring to life the rich history of Philadelphia’s pharmacy industry: Ornate apothecary jars made for storing opium extract are juxtaposed with advertising tchotchkes like Valium paper weights and Nicorette pens. Glass jars of some of the earliest iterations of penicillin share shelf space with Brace Denture Adhesive Cream and the eyeglasses of Class of 1837 alumnus William Procter Jr. (the “Father of American Pharmacy”).

The Museum, which was established in 1995 to coincide with the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy’s (PCP) 175th anniversary, houses one of the largest collections of pharmacy artifacts in North America. The historical treasure trove features over 12,000 objects, many of which were donated by PCP alumni and faculty, as well as by Philadelphia-area pharmacies.

“Everyone has a very intimate and personal experience navigating medicine and the medical system, so having a museum that allows our community to both learn about and be exposed to the history of what they’re encountering today is so important,” says Emma Gunuey-Marrs, collection manager and assistant curator of the museum.

The museum was named after industry leader Marvin Samson, DSc, H ’96, president and founder of Samson Medical Technologies, LLC, for his long-standing service to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and his dedication to the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to donating a number of artifacts over the years, he also funded the restoration and installation of the museum’s Bohlander Pharmacy oak cabinetry, which was donated by George Bohlander in 1975.

Today, students from Saint Joseph’s Department of History are helping to inventory and catalog the expansive collection, while pharmacy students contextualize the space and reflect on its contents as they begin their professional journeys.

"The museum is a treasure. It offers our pharmacy, history and other students a unique opportunity to engage with artifacts spanning four centuries, thereby enriching their understanding of pharmacy and pharmaceutical evolution and inspiring interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare education," says Edward Foote, BS ’87, PharmD ’91, dean of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.

A Museum Minute

Have a minute? Journey back in time through our roundup of artifacts from the Marvin Samson Museum for the History of Pharmacy.

Blue and white wet drug jar — Wet Drug Jar, “CONF ALKE. RM.” (confection of berries); 1700-circa 1740; England

Form and Function

Ceramic jars like this one, referred to as wet drug jars, stored everything from cinchona syrups — extracted from tree bark and used to help fight malaria and decrease heart palpitations — to tinctures of berries, equivalent to modern-day cough syrups. The ornate designs added to drug stores’ aesthetic to draw in customers.

“When we see ceramics and even glass jars, we think of these things as art objects, but they were actually mass produced,” says Gunuey-Marrs. “They were created without the writing and then would have been labeled based on what the pharmacist was dispensing.”

Group of pharmacy drug labels — Group of Pharmacy Drug Labels; Circa 1986-1996; Chester, Pennsylvania; Gift of Murray J. Seidelman, 1996

Label Me

These labels from the early 20th century were adhered to glass bottles of ingredients like dramamine (used to treat motion sickness symptoms), benzoin (used to relieve pain) and arnica (used for muscle soreness).

Among the boxes are also labels of Coca Cola syrup. While once prescribed for nausea and vomiting, Coca Cola and other sodas made their way into drug stores via soda fountains in the 1800s.

“These were small businesses and pharmacists were looking at other ways to bring in customers,” says Gunuey-Marrs. “Pharmacies became a social space. And then during Prohibition, the pharmacist also became your bartender because alcohol was prescription.”

Book pharmacy formulas — "Pharmacopeia of the United States, Eighth Decennial Revision," Philadelphia: P. Blakiston’s Son & Company, 1905

Pharmaceutical Formulas

“[The United States] Pharmacopeia was used to create standards across the pharmacy and apothecary industry,” explains Gunuey-Marrs. “So, you could go to a drug store and ask for a particular drug and know that you were getting the same medicine that you would get if you went elsewhere.”

This publication holds particular significance for the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. In 1880, when few women entered the workforce, Clara Marshall, MD, was appointed the first woman member of the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention. She was also the first female student of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1876.

“Ferancee - HP” Cast Iron Keychain; late 20th century, before 1994; Stuart Pharmaceuticals; Wilmington, Delaware; Gift of Irving L. Trust

The Promotional Graveyard

The museum is chock full of pharmaceutical advertising paraphernalia, from pens to paperweights, keychains to magnets.

This cast iron anvil and hammer keychain from the late 20th century advertises Ferancee-HP, an iron deficiency anemia medication.

In 2009, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America put an end to Prozac golf towels and Zantac pens, prohibiting “non-educational and practice-related gifts,” citing concerns of bias and unethical influence over physicians’ prescribing practices.

Penicillin Sodium bottle — Penicillin Sodium; 1941-1945; E.R. Squibb and Sons; New York

The First Antibiotic

Penicillin, the first-ever antibiotic, was discovered accidentally in a petri dish in 1928 and commercialized for public use in 1941. During World War II, it was mass produced and used widely by U.S. troops, preventing countless deaths from infections.

This vial from E.R. Squibb and Sons dates back to 1946 and is one of many samples from its time, including bottles from Pfizer, Winthrop, Merck, the Upjohn Company and Abbott Laboratories. Penicillin is arguably one of the most significant medical discoveries of the 20th century.

Visits and Exhibitions

Due to recent water damage, the Marvin Samson Museum for the History of Pharmacy is closed for renovations and will reopen in August 2025.

Indications, Aug. 15-Nov. 29, 2025

The museum’s reopening exhibition, Indications: Teresa Cervantes, co-curated with Artist-in-Residence Teresa Cervantes, playfully draws on traditions of apothecary craft, pharmaceutical marketing and visual art to reflect on the ways we construct ourselves using healthcare and wellness products.

Inside SJU’s Medicine Cabinets

Indications features Cervantes’ series of large-scale, hand-colored photographs depicting the medicine cabinets of Saint Joseph’s University students, faculty and staff, offering a window into private wellness routines and care rituals.