Past President

Leonard Worthen is Professor of Pharmacognosy and Associate Dean, Emeritus of the College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island. His particular area of research was the fungi, with emphasis on mushrooms. This work included natural product isolation, and antibiotic and antitumor screening. Leonard joined ASP in 1962, and attended the Third Annual Meeting, which was held at the Univ. West Virginia. During the early years of ASP, most of the members were faculty and graduate students from Colleges of Pharmacy. In looking back, he notes that attendance at the annual meeting was typically no more than one hundred, and the meetings were held on university campuses. This made it possible to visit many academic institutions and their associated research facilities, medicinal plant gardens, and other areas of interest. As the group increased in number, it became necessary to hold the ever-growing annual meeting in different venues. His service to ASP included six years as Treasurer (1967-1973), and later as President. It was also during this period that the Society undertook the Editorship of Lloydia, both an important scholarly activity and a significant financial challenge. We were fortunate in that a number of ASP members made anonymous contributions, which, along with the support of a number of other patrons, made it possible to meet expenses. He particularly enjoyed the two meetings that were held here in Rhode Island, in 1965 and again in 1987. The first meeting included a symposium on chemotaxonomy, which was supported by a grant from the NIH. Perhaps his greatest joy as a long-time member of ASP has been to witness the phenomenal growth of the Society, both in membership and in scientific scope, as well as the international reputation and financial stability that have been achieved through the dedication and hard work of the members. (LRW)