Speaking at the opening ceremony of the school's 50th jubilee, Prof Fastier (94) reminisced about the shaky future of pharmacy education at the time the Otago school was established.
He believed it was important to teach both technology and medicine together in pharmacology, as it was known then.
''The doctor and the pharmacist is an important combination and, as long as they stick together, they provide the best for New Zealanders as a whole.''
The first student was admitted to the school in 1962 and in 1963 entered the first professional year in pharmacy.
The School of Pharmacy provided the first university qualification for pharmacy in New Zealand and the first four-year pharmacy degree in Australasia.
While the class started with five students, it dropped to three. Two of those first students, Mrs Sumich and Dr Ken Taylor, are attending the jubilee.
Mrs Sumich, a mother of five who stopped part-time practice as a pharmacist three years ago, was 23 when she graduated and was looking forward to catching up with fellow class member.
The jubilee celebrations continue until tomorrow. Class photographs, an academic symposium and discussions on life as a student through the decade are scheduled.
