THE HISTORY of the UNIVERSITY
of CALIFORNIA,
IRVINE
By Sam McCulloch
Part two of two
(Part one published Spring, 2003)
The Move to UCI
The master plan for UCI included an area at the western
edge of campus for the construction of medical school classroom buildings
and a hospital. However, because establishment
of a college of medicine was not expected before the campus’ second decade
(and most certainly not within its first year), UCI was taken by surprise
at the arrival of CCM. Chancellor Aldrich
cautioned both Dean Bostick and Dr. Gerard that
although he favored CCM relocating to UCI, UCI’s faculty would be quite apprehensive
about acquiring a medical school so early in its history.
The minutes of the first meeting of the UCI Academic Senate
(November 1965) reflect those concerns. Faculty viewed the arrival of CCM
as an unwelcome complication occurring at an inopportune time. They were already working extremely hard to
open their “instant university”, and they felt that all of their efforts must
be channeled in that direction. The
problems of administering a medical school were well-known to both the faculty
and the administration, and the faculty expressed concern that the high costs
involved with a medical school could milk UCI’s overall budget.
The standard joke that went around the Irvine
faculty at the time told the story of a chancellor who died and went “down
under” (not, however, to Australia). The devil showed him a marvelous university
and told him that he could be in charge of it.
When the chancellor asked what the catch was, the devil replied, “This
university has not one but two medical schools”.
The November Senate meeting was the scene of heated debate.
In response to a question concerning CCM’s
prior identity as an osteopathic school and whether that would taint it in
the minds of some, Dean Gerard said that CCM was “now a part, not just an
affiliate, of UC. Of the present faculty of about one hundred recruited by
Dean Bostick, no more than two or three osteopaths
would move with and become a part of UC”. A second question posed was whether eminent
medical researchers would be “attracted to such an organization burdened with
the prior reputation of mediocrity one would expect of such an affiliation”. Gerard’s response was that any faculty appointments
would be made to UCI, not to CCM. He
also discussed “the undisputed eminence of some of the medical profession
now on the faculty of CCM who would make the move to Irvine.”
President Kerr’s Advisory Committee
President Kerr created an advisory committee to administer
the move. As its chair, Kerr appointed
Bernard O’Laughlin, Professor of Radiology at the
UCLA School of Medicine. (O’Laughlin was interested
in joining the new medical school.) Committee
members were Dean Gerard; Nathaniel T. Coleman, Chair of Chemistry at UC Riverside;
and Berneice Wenzel, Professor of Physiology at
UCLA. Gerard, in particular, brought
great distinction to the committee because of his reputation as a physiologist
and neuroanatomist and his membership in the National
Academy of Sciences.
One of the committee’s charges was to guide Dean Bostick in matters of UC policies and procedures, and to inform
and advise both Kerr and the UC-wide Senate on the activities and qualifications
of the college’s faculty and students.
Differing Philosophies on Academic Structure
Another charge given to the advisory committee was to develop
the academic structure for the new college. This led to intense discussions about how CCM
students should be taught and which academic unit (Biological Sciences or
CCM) should provide their pre-clinical and the clinical preparation.
Dean Bostick and Gerard held differing
views on which would be the better unit to provide that education. Gerard had gained most of his ideas about academic
structure from the University of Illinois Medical
School, where a former colleague was an administrator, and he recommended
to Chancellor Aldrich and Academic Vice Chancellor Roger Russell (a psychobiologist)
that the pre-clinical sciences should be offered through the Division of Biological
Sciences. He reasoned that if the preclinical sciences were
taught there and not in CCM, the medical school would not have to create large
faculties in physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, etc. He felt, however, that CCM should retain its
clinical departments.
Bostick stood in opposition to
Gerard. Bostick
wished to preside over a standard medical school in which the pre-clinical
work would be self-contained, not taught in departments in another school. In a visit to the University
of Illinois he learned that virtually
all the basic sciences learned were indeed taught under the biological sciences
umbrella. He also learned, however,
that a new dean there was making changes. In his report to Kerr’s advisory committee Bostick stated: “When
you go to the University of Illinois
and you try to find the School of
Medicine, you can’t find it”.
Bostick felt that should UCI follow the Illinois
example, he would be “just a dean of a two-year medical school … running just
the hospital side …” He told the committee that the academic structure proposed
for CCM would create difficulty with recruiting and that he could envision
prospective faculty members saying, “Fine, … I’ll come to UCI, but I’ll join
you someday when you have a real medical school”.
Dean Gerard felt that he had made his case for involving
the Division of Biological Sciences so well that both Chancellor Aldrich and
Vice Chancellor Russell would accept his argument.
But such was not the outcome.
Aldrich Creates an Ad Hoc Committee on the Health Sciences
As negotiations for the CCM move continued, Chancellor Aldrich
decided to develop an overall plan not only for medical training but also
for the future of UCI’s involvement in the health sciences as a whole.
To that end, in mid-1965 he formed an ad
hoc faculty committee to be advisory to him and to the UCI Senate.
Chaired by Richard Snyder, Dean of the Graduate School of Administration,
the committee included six of UCI’s outstanding faculty: A. S. Boughey, Chair of Population and Environmental Biology; Ralph
Gerard, Dean of Graduate Studies; Jack Holland, Chair of Molecular and Cell
Biology; Henry Cord Meyer, Chair of History; Harold Moore, Assistant Professor
of Chemistry; and Edward Steinhaus, Dean of Biological
Sciences.
The blue ribbon committee worked long and hard, and it developed
a comprehensive report which contains eleven recommendations, the last of
which urged the construction of a 500-bed on-campus hospital “as soon as resources
permit”. However, because of the continuing
unhappiness of some faculty with CCM’s arrival and
origins, the report was not properly appreciated when it was presented in
1966, even though it contained a comprehensive, wide-ranging, and very thoughtful
analysis which reflected the innovative philosophy that has become traditional
with UCI’s academic planners. Imbedded
in the report is a wish to plan for the twenty-first century and a goal that
the health sciences at UCI should be a pioneering attempt to establish a combined
research and education program with a global perspective.
The report’s first recommendation called for the creation
of a senior administrative position whose primary responsibility would be
an overall involvement with establishing a center for the health sciences. The position would be titled Vice Chancellor
for the Health Sciences, and it would be responsible to the Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs. The report suggested
that the appointee be an unusually vigorous and imaginative leader since the
position would be involved with “a set of interrelated schools, divisions,
and programs … which will comprise the Irvine Health Science Complex”. The report specified that the appointee should
hold both Ph.D. and M.D. degrees, be between the ages of 40 and 55, and be
an experienced university administrator outside a medical school. In addition, the appointee should understand
interdisciplinary studies, have a grasp of major educational administrative
problems, have “friends” in Washington, D.C. (e.g., at the National Institutes
of Health), be a “man” of ideas (note the sexist bias), and be an academician
experienced in teaching, research, administration, and medical practice. In short, perhaps impossible
criteria.
Another recommendation was that the health science complex
should be “conceived and operated as an integrated division of the Irvine
campus“, with the goal of building intellectual bridges to link general education
and the health sciences. The report
also proposed that the recruitment of “deans, directors, department chairs,
and regular faculty must in all cases conform to the standards of excellence
already established for the Irvine
campus”.
The report envisioned that the proposed health sciences
complex would include eight components: (1) a school of human medicine, (2)
a school of veterinary medicine, (3) a school of dentistry, (4) a school of
nursing, (5) a program of research and education focused on the chemistry
of biologically active compounds and clinical pharmacology, (6) a center for
mental health research, (7) an environmental health program, and (8) a world
health program (Chancellor Aldrich was deeply involved with the latter as
Chair of the World Food Committee).
To address the problem of forging relationships between
the health sciences and UCI’s five academic divisions, the report recommended
that for the foreseeable future the interrelationships between the basic and
the clinical sciences be campus-wide; that is, there should be no duplicate
departments. The relevant basic sciences faculty would be
under the jurisdiction of the divisions of Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences,
and Social Sciences, and the School
of Engineering. (This supported
Dean Gerard’s philosophy concerning the basic science departments.)
The report also promoted the Land Grant concept of “continuing
education”, by recommending collaboration between the Health Sciences Complex
and the surrounding community.
The report also recognized that the entire scope of “biomedical
educational activities” should capitalize on the ideas being worked out a
UCI in the areas of computer-aided learning
and closed-circuit televised instruction.
It suggested that computer-based techniques be used to aid diagnosis,
prediction, the recording of the effects of administering medications, and
for “other clinical and research activities”.
Among the remaining recommendations were that the ad hoc committee should be replaced by
a permanent planning committee which would establish interfaces with other
UC campuses in order to “identify activities and organizational units which
might be involved in a systematic program of inter-campus cooperation”. The report also made the time-honored request
for special funds with which to launch the health science complex. (Only in 1993 did that launching occur, promulgated
by then-Dean of Medicine and Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences, Walter L.
Henry. At that even, models of a five-
building Center for the Health Sciences were exhibited to the community.)
UCI Agrees to Accept CCM
The Academic Senate met three times in 1966 to debate the
ad hoc committee’s report. Chancellor Aldrich and a majority of the UCI
faculty supported its recommendations, while those in opposition made strong,
reasoned statements. Hazard Adams
was the strongest opposing voice, though all spoke forcefully. The Senate’s final motion read: “It was moved to receive the committee’s report
together with all files and records and to discharge the committee with the
thanks of the Senate for the months of arduous deliberation …” There was no wish to take a vote on the report.
Though not anxious to have a medical school arrive so early,
the UCI faculty was not about to oppose Chancellor Aldrich, who felt it was
wise to accept CCM. Aldrich relayed
his positive recommendation to President Kerr, and the Regents voted to accept
CCM into UCI in April, 1967. The CCM
Trustees tried to block the Regents’ decision but were unsuccessful.
Once CCM became part of UCI, its Los Angeles-based Board
of Trustees continued to exist but had no real power. They became advisory to the chancellor on matters
of CCM business and resources, but as the cadre of original members decreased
over time, newer appointees, whose appointments were approved by the Regents
Committee on Educational Policy, were more representative of Orange
County.
By November 1973, the membership roster included: Agnes Blomquist, former president of the Newport Savings and Loan
Association, Edmond B. Busher, Executive Vice President,
Townsend Company, Gavin Herbert, Jr., President, Allergan
Pharmaceutical Corporation, Doreen Marshall, Administrator and former mayor
of Newport Beach, Alex Morales, Jr., President, Alex Food, Inc., Dr.
John M. Rau, President, David Industries, Robert Weed, President and Publisher,
the Daily Pilot.
Alternate Board members were: Athalie Clarke, widow of
Judge Thurman Clarke and mother of Joan Irvine Smith, Arthur Guy, attorney,
George R. Johnson, Esq, attorney, John Lawson, Executive
Vice President, Aerospace and Defense System Operation, Rudy Munger, Chairman of the Board, Petrollane
Company, Henry T. Segerstrom, General Partner, C.J.
Segerstrom & Sons, Rancher and Developer.
Some Results of CCM Coming to UCI
John Holland, an extremely active and articulate member
of Aldrich’s
ad hoc committee, had
been very skeptical of the recommendation that basic pre-clinical courses
be taught in the Division of Biological Sciences.
Holland had experienced
at a prior university a situation in which the medical school had made enormous
demands on the administration and had always received favorable consideration.
Holland therefore asked
that the following statement be included among the report’s eleven recommendations:
One of the members of the committee, Professor John J. Holland, wishes
it to be made clear that he did not agree with much of what is said or implied
in the remainder of this report....that much of this report is too vague
and too detailed for a committee of non-medical educators. The UCI faculty
would be better-advised to submit a report in which a few broad general
guidelines are established in a clear, concise way. The best way to ensure
a health sciences complex that is worthy of UCI is to recruit a superb vice
chancellor and a dean, and superb faculty members. They should then be given
the opportunity to build a great medical center as they see fit, unencumbered
by ambiguous reports which hint at educational upheavals.
CCM was not in the mold recommended by Professor Holland. Nor did some faculty appointments to CCM meet
UC standards. However, both Dean Bostick and Professor O’Laughlin
and his committee were fully aware of the need for excellence in all branches
of CCM, and a number of the new faculty appointees came to Irvine
with particularly sound reputations in their specialties. Among these was Dr. Louis A. Gottschalk, founding
Chair of Psychiatry, who came from the University
of Cincinnati with a vita of unqualified
excellence.
In May 1967, the Academic Senate appointed thirty-eight
tenured CCM faculty members to Senate membership and placed them on various
standing committees. Senate Chair Abe
Melden knew that membership on the Senate committees would
help to facilitate the integration of the medical faculty with the rest of
the CUI faculty. Chief of Medicine
Berk paid tribute to Dr. Melden
as being “a very good modifying influence”.
It was of fundamental importance to Berk
that the existing CCM faculty be moved into positions on committees and representation
within the Senate as soon as possible.
Regrettably, John Holland, who was a young and brilliant
scholar in molecular and cell biology, soon transferred to UC San Diego, which
had a medical school and where “the Biological Sciences were very, very strong,
and they had no basic science departments in the medical school.
Call Joe Walsh, UCI’s Health Care Facilitator. He can be reached
at (949) 824-8921, or his assistant at (949) 824-9065 for any
medical benefit questions that might arise.
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THE ANNUAL MEETING
Our annual meeting was well attended this year, with a historical
slide presentation by Jean
Aldrich and her daughter, Liz
Tomey. This program was presented by the Chancellor’s
Club. Those in attendance had a few
laughs at the bareness of the area compared to what we are seeing today.
CHANCELLOR’S CLUB
In a letter to your Chair, Lyman Porter, Mitchell W. Spann,
Director of the Chancellor’s Club wrote: “On
behalf of the Chancellor’s Club, thank you for allowing us to present ‘UCI, Past, Present, and Future’ at
your spring meeting earlier this month. We
enjoyed meeting a number of your Emeriti colleagues who are responsible for
building the campus from the very beginning.
“Of course, we hope that they will consider joining us as
Chancellor’s Club members by investing in the Chancellor’s Fund for Excellence.
As you know, our goal is to provide the Chancellor with funds to:
“In order for UCI to continue to grow both in
number of students as well as quality of education and research, these funds
are more important than at any time in the campus history.
In some ways, the Chancellor’s Club is similar to an insurance policy
protecting the wonderful reputation of the campus in this time of fiscal challenges.
“Again, thank you for including us in your meeting. Should you need any assistance with the Chancellor’s
Club or have questions about the club, please feel free to call me at (949)
824-7936.”
YOUR NEWS
This Newsletter is sparse
without news of your recent publications and/or
activities and travel.
Please share
with us anything you feel might be pertinent or interesting for your colleagues
to read.
You may use our email address:
emeriti@uci.edu
or postal address.
SAD NEWS
Since the last newsletter, two colleagues and friends have
passed away. Leon Schwartz was an outstanding
contributor to Emeritae/i business and was the recipient of the third annual
Emeritae/i Award of Excellence. Leon
passed away last spring shortly after receiving the news of this third award.
It is with our deepest regrets we advise you of the passing
this past June of Grover Cleveland Stephens.
Grover had been a contributor to this Newsletter several times. In August,
Grover's widow, Ann, took a trip to Africa
with his granddaughter who is currently serving in Africa
in the Peace Corps.
BROCHURE
An attractive colored brochure has been designed and printed
through the efforts of our own Roland
Schinzinger and Isabelle
Hunt. It
is being sent to all prospective new members. It depicts an aerial view of the campus continuing
to the ocean beyond. It lists the
officers and members of the Executive Committee in a manner that can be updated
as the years go by. Along with that
is a synopsis of what
the Association does, who is eligible for membership, how it is governed, and where to find more information.
Of course, when you desire more information, you may log onto http://www.senate.uci.edu/Emeriti_index.html
DUES REQUEST
It’s that time again when we request your annual contribution
of $25 to cover the expenses we incur every year. You will find a blank within
this Newsletter to be accompanied with your check.
If
your mailing address is no different from
that on this Newsletter, it is not necessary to repeat it.
Electronic mailings are occasionally sent (often from the home of our
secretary, and her address is
audwix@aol.com)
and if you are already receiving occasional emails, you need not complete
that blank.
Several members have already paid their dues
for the year 2003/2004.
YOUR PENSION
Hopefully the 2% increase in your pension was large enough
for you to have noticed this year. The
cost of living was increased 3.75%, but there is a limit of only 2% annually
to be paid out. The 1.75% remaining
will be added another time.
BIOBIBLIOGRAPHIES
Biannually we are requested by UCLA to survey our members
for a listing of activities during the past two years. This survey will be sent to you shortly. We would very much appreciate your returning
it to us completed. The compilation
of varying activities is interesting and valuable.
Remember when you complete the form that it should include only the
activities in which you have taken part during the past two year period. The information is compiled without your name.
Your name is on the form you return only so that we know from whom
surveys have been received.
GERIATRIC STUDIES
Susan Hodes, MS 3
As a freshman medical student arriving at UCI in the fall
of 2001, I had never heard of the field of Geriatrics. Growing up close to
my grandparents, I have always enjoyed being with older people. I appreciate
listening to their stories and pearls of wisdom garnered through hard life
experience. My grandparents have always been active. Whether volunteering at
their local food pantry, coordinating lecture series for various clubs and
organizations, or visiting sick friends to bring chicken soup, they modeled
a picture of successful aging in which advancing age alone was no disability.
It was not until my grandparents began to experience serious health problems
that I realized how disabling diseases of advanced age are for seniors and
how they threaten the delicate balance of function in daily life activities.
My awareness of this problem, resources to assist seniors,
and the field of Geriatrics in general, have increased dramatically through
the efforts of the UCI program in Geriatrics. Since the first year of medical
school, my classmates and I have been involved in the Student Senior Partnership
Program. In this program, pairs of students are partnered with a senior whom
we visit periodically over the course of our medical education. In this setting, we discuss issues in geriatric
care and learn from our partners’
experiences. As I have listened to my partner’s stories and advice about healthy
aging, coping with changes, illness, and life transitions, I have gained a
valuable perspective. My senior partner’s experiences have heightened my awareness
of the challenges which an ever growing segment of our society faces. Moreover,
this program has encouraged me to think critically about how illnesses affect
my patients as individuals, and what I can do to help restore function lost
with disabling disease.
The UCI program in Geriatrics has further aided this effort through its support
of the Geriatrics Student Interest Group. As a member, I attend lunchtime
case presentations, discussions with geriatrics faculty members, and field
trips which provide insight into aspects of medical care and treatment of
common problems affecting older patients. In addition, the interest group
facilitates awareness of community resources for seniors. For example, our
group recently visited the Orange
County chapter of the Braille Institute.
In a series of hands-on demonstrations, we glimpsed the challenges which older
adults face as they lose their vision: even simple tasks like pouring a cup
of coffee in the morning, addressing an envelope, paying a cashier, or crossing
the street become difficult. We observed some of the Braille Institute’s techniques
to teach visitors to perform these tasks of daily living, and learned about
services and accommodations ranging from Braille classes to large font computer
programs available through the Institute. This information will not only prove
useful in referring patients, but also in helping patients cope with and overcome
disability. Through my experiences in geriatrics at UCI, I am better prepared
to help my patients regain function in their daily life activities and thereby
help them age with dignity.
UCI Emeritae/i Association
2000 Mesa Office Building
Irvine,
CA 92697-9014
Emeritae/i
Association Fall Program
at the
University Club, Room “C”
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
12:00 noon
to 2:00
pm
Speaker: Michael Rose, Professor of
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
"Postponing Human Aging"
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Benefits Update Program
at the
UCI Student Center
Emerald Bay Room "D & E"
Friday, November 14th, 2003
2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Speaker: Joe Walsh,
Health Care Facilitator
"What's Happening to My Benefits?"
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Enclosed is my optional dues
payment for the Academic year 2003 – 2004
My check in the amount of
$25 is made payable to John Swett
Name ____________________ Telephone ( )
_______________
Corrected Address __________________________________
E-Mail (If you have never heard from us) _____________ @ _________
(please write plainly)
Mail check to: Audrey
Wicks
2306 Apricot
Irvine,
CA 92618