Louisiana State University Shreveport Medical School - Pulse Yearbook (Shreveport, LA)

Page 10 text:

Edgar Hull. Dr. Hull, the associate dean of the L.S.U. Medical Center, was named interim dean of the new school by Dr. William W. Frye, chancellor of the L.S.U. Medical Center. A member of the Univer- sity's medical faculty for nearly thirty-five years, Dr. Hull had been serving as asso- ciate dean of the L.S.U. School of Medi- cine in New Orleans since 1954, and was also professor and head of its Department of Medicine. Also in 1966, Dr. George R. Meneely ioined Dean Hull as coordinator for development of plans and programs for the school, acting through the position of associate dean. Even with this excellent leadership, the fledgling medical school needed money - 530.5 million to be exact. The pro- curement of these funds had its start in December of 1966 when the State Legis- lature voted unanimously to finance part of the building of the school through a S10 million state bond issue. But there was still a matter of 320.5 million, which was sought from the federal government. Dean Hull stated in 1967, We're work- ing against a November 1 deadline for getting in our application for federal funds. We're working day andfnight - I work all day and the staff works all night. Not only can Dean Hull's wit be sensed in this quotation, but also the suc- cess of his hard work - for in December of 1969 it was announced that the appli- cation for 520.5 million in federal match- ing funds was approved by the federal government. Preparations were already underway . vt . v I 1 ll f N1- fix , tw 30 'Hur i li H1 1 for the school to acquire its first students. A contract was signed March 18, 1967, for beginning development of the twelve- story medical school, the most costly state building ever constructed in Louisi- ana, to be located immediately adiacent to the Confederate Memorial Hospital. Confederate, a 1,000 bed charity hospi- tal, was planned to be used as the medi- cal school's instruction center for clinical training. Also, in June of 1967, it was announced that the Veterans Administra- tion Hospital in Shreveport and all of its facilities would be available to the medi- cal school. Most of the classes for the first two years were planned to be held at the V.A. Hospital. Research labs, as well as classrooms and offices, were set up at the hospital. Besides the full-time depart- ment heads and instructors beginning to be appointed, in February, 1968, the appointment of 138 part-time faculty

Page 9 text:

is 'Til 3 . bt B ,,. If I 1 Iii i . I . , , is I is F' I Q Q M I is 7 I , J? If 5- -in-..... If THE HISTORY OF LSU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE IN SHREVEPORT Danny S. Wood The IOOth medical school to be estab- lished in the United States was created on Monday, May 31, 1965, when Repre- sentative J. Bennett Johnston, Jr. of Caddo Parish steered a bill through the House of Representatives in Baton Rouge to found a new medical school in Shreve- port. The bill passed, fifty-seven to forty- three, in the House, and by June 7 of the same year the Senate authorized it and Governor John J. McKeithen put the fin- ishing touch on the bill with his signature. So the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport was formally created in roughly a week - but its beginnings go back a little farther - ten years, in fact, before the bill ever hit the State Legislature. Since l955, Dr. Joe E. Holoubek had headed a committee of the Shreveport Medical Society to get a medical school located in Shreveport. So in June of I965, after ten years of work, worry, but always optimism, dreams were changed to realities and work was turned into more work and planning. A dean was needed for the school, and a dean was acquired - the Dean of Louisiana medicine - Dr. X

Page 11 text:

members to the school was announced by Dean Hull. All of the part-time appointees would participate without compensation in the school's teaching program. Now that the facilities, staff, and administration were beginning to take a pleasing form, in September, 1969, thirty-twostudents registered as the first class of L.S.U. School of Medi- cine in Shreveport - the Class of I973. The school grew, not only in faculty and administrative size, but also in stu- dent number. In September of 1971, the third entering class of freshmen was hiked from thirty-two to forty students, and a six-year program was begun for students directly out of high school to get a B.S. degree and an M.D. degree all in six years. The fall of 1972 marked another historical event for the school - on September 16, at 4:00 p.m., the groundbreaking ceremonies marked the start of the L.S.U. Medical School's 530.5 million physical complex, com- posed of five buildings, on the grounds of Confederate Memorial Medical Cen- ter. More than 500 persons attended the groundbreaking ceremonies, to witness the beginning of the most expensive building in L.S.U. history. The history of this school would not be complete without closing with another word concerning Dean Edgar Hull, who retired from University service on June 30, I973. Dr. Clifford G. Grulee, Jr., past dean of Cincinnatti College of Medi- cine, replaced Dr. Hull as the school's new Dean. Dean Hull has been a maior cause for the success of this schooI's growth, and with such a fine beginning, the school will undoubtedly continue with its full development. The Shreveport Jour- nal aptly put it, when on September 22, l97l, it reported, With all aspects of the new med school added together, the influence that it will exert on this area is incalculable, and as the years go by and the school is enlarged, it very well may be Shreveport's greatest single asset.