Tulane University School of Medicine - T Wave Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

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Tulane University Scliool of Medicine: An Historical Perspective The Tulane University School of Medicine had its beginning as the Medical College of Louisiana in September 1834, as three brash young physicians, all less than 26 years of age, initiated medical education in Louisiana. They were Thomas Hunt, who was to become the first Dean of the medical school, Warren Stone and John Harrison. In addition to these three founders, the faculty of the school consisted of four other local physicians: Augustus Cenas, Charles Luzenberg, T. R. Ingalls, and E. B. Smith. Establishment of the school was met with considerable opposition from the Creoles, whose ideas concerning medical education were based on the European system that stressed academics well-grounded in the Latin and Greek classics. To them, the idea ♦ I ' ttLfrtBD J n PtntUSHRD dmly.bv TllB UMOS— tT r i»TBE »rii !»»o. ItlONBAV MOftMtNG,«l£I T. 29, 1834. sems o » jiice rhceatabliahmpnt in this siontlomen wjio fit) ihe chairs lill ami experience, anj we-hiipa :!.r,t nv nnj noti e th %xht iOTuiiuu5, when we pilint in uiiriicel ' ir to Mp38n .,Hirrr, Imoalls an ' l Luzrmoe g, with t . % «C apqiiiiiuanc 18 more extended. The two former ifStfo-D ' rfore o ciflfed in o like capacity in similar ina ' itu- . lits, ant ihe Imter baa edtabhilietl a r :pula!ion in uur cily f 10 llie ' ii jliesil grade as a surgeon. Thfi Tf pr Friend, was run into hy ihcTum Jt trsim, ciT ' iJilc Lafajetu; on Saiurdciy, and suuiii waicrupig ilie of providing such education without this foundation was incomprehensible. Further- more, they regarded American universities with disdain, and considered them grossly inferior to their European counterparts. Nonetheless, the Medical College first opened its doors in January 1835. In doing so, it became the first medical school in the Deep South, and the fifteenth in the country. The inaugural address was given by Dean Hunt at the First Presbyterian Church. This church and various other borrowed quarters were used for the first lecture presentations. A lecture room in the State House and several wards in Charity Hospital also served as classrooms. These temporary facilities were the only ones available during the next several years, while the faculty worked to secure the funds necessary to construct a permanent structure to house the fledgling school. In 1836, the governor of the state attempted to help the medical faculty with their cause. A measure appropriating 160,000 for this purpose was proposed and passed by the Senate. Unfortunately, the bill was defeated by the house. It was not until 1843 that any definitive action was taken. On March 22nd of that Newspaper clipping announcing the establishment of the Medical College of Louisiana. Thomas Hunt, MD, first Dean ► of the Medical College. year, a law was passed permitting the medical faculty to erect a building on a state-owned lot located on Common Street between Baronne and Dryades. As with most legislative God-sends, conditions were placed on the appropriation. First, the faculty members were required to donate their services to Charity Hospital for ten years, and, second, one student from each parish, to be named by the senator and representatives from that parish, were to be guaranteed admission to the College each year for the same period. In addition, the state reserved the right to reclaim all properties at the end of the term. The fact that this bill gave professional privileges at Charity Hospital to the faculty of the College created an uproar among the New Orleans ' medical practitioners. This opposition was based on the false belief that the College would be given sole authority over medicine and surgery at Charity. When it was made clear that this was not the case, the medical community was able to work together, resulting in the best medical care that the city had ever seen, as well as providing the College with a clinical teaching hospital that was gradually evol- ving into one of the top such facilities in the country.

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• Preservation Hall trumpeter (No, ifs not Dr. Voupel!)

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■4 Tulane University School of Medicine circa 1970. Tl e original Constitution of thie Medical College of Louisiana. JAa 4 t iA4, o. 4 students remained enrolled. Federal occupation of New Orleans forced the closure of the University later that year. In the fall of 1865, the school reopened its doors, enrolling 185 students. But the devastation left by the Civil War and the subsequent Reconstruction, placed the medical school in its most trying times, struggling financially for its very existence until 1884, when a wealthy New Orleans Having obtained legislative approval and financial funding to erect a building, the faculty immediately set about drawing up plans for a structure to house the Medical College. This building was estimated to cost $6,000 and was not completed until the end of 1843. In 1845, a Constitutional Con- vention directed that the Medical College of Louisiana become the Medical Depart- ment of the University of Louisiana. Two years later, additional funds were appro- priated to erect buildings for the new University, and the original building was returned to the state to be used by the ■newly established Law Department. A much larger building was constructed adja- cent to the original medical building for use by the Medical Department. At the time of its founding, the number of students attending the Medical College was a grand total of 11. From 1834 to 1859, this number grew to an impressive 276. This rocketed to 404, however, just prior to the War Between the States (or Civil War to those not from the South) that began in 1861, as political and sectional hostility prompted Southern students to abandon Northern colleges. Yet, when the conflict ensued, students joined the war effort in such numbers that, by 1862, only 94 ▲ The Class of 1910. SZSZ • Mofyjofjhe School of M dk:ln - ' I -Wave I C3