East Carolina University - Buccaneer Tecoan Yearbook (Greenville, NC)

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There has been much pro- gress made at the ECU Medical School, according to Dr. William E. Laupus dean of the school. The accrediting officials were very positive in a February visit. The consultation visit request- ed by the medical school was an informal visit of the commit- tee so suggestions and com- ments could be made concern- ing future progress according to Laupus. The visit was one of several that we will have, said Laupus. There is a standard procedure for achieving accreditation. First there is a consultation visit. When the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) feels we are ready they will conduc ' a site accreditation visit. After the site visit the com- mittee will make a presentation to LCME which meets about four times a year. The LCME will make a recommendation for pro- visional accreditation and will set a date to open the school and establish the number of students to enroll. The provisional accreditation rating is standard for all medi- cal schools, said Walter Shep- herd, assistant to the dean. All new medical schools receive pro- visional accreditation until they graduate their first students. After that the LCME will conduct another visit and then determine final accreditation. The consultation members were quite impressed during their recent visit. We had pro- gressed much further than they had thought we could since their visit last year, said Shepherd. There are three areas which must be completed before the site visit, said Laupus. These are the residency training pro- gram, our doctorate (Ph.D) pro- gram and faculty recruitment. The consultation staff found the facilities quite adequate. We had to receive special permission to establish a PhD program as the University of North Carolina Board of Gover- nors had placed a moratorium on all program expansion. 28 Medical School

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Mrs. Ledonis Smith Wright, one of the first black professors at ECU was found in the Tar River on June 19. The cause of death was accidental drowning. She was an associate professor of Community Health in the School of Allied Health and had been at ECU two years. A na- tive of Rockingham, Mrs. Wright worked closely with programs to benefit minority students. Allied Health 27

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Medical School Makes Preparations to Open in ' 77 Opposite Page: Center: Walter Shepherd, assistant to the dean explains the new medical school to Momka Sutherland Below: Rooms in Ragsdale Dorm have been renovated for the Medical School This board room was two dorm rooms. Above: Left: Dr, William E, Laupus, dean of the medical school. Above Right: Plans for the new hospital include a teaching facility for the ECU Medical School Left: Pitt Memorial Hospital nears comple- tion. Medical School 29