University at Buffalo - Buffalonian Yearbook (Buffalo, NY)

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'Che Medical Department of tbe University of Buffalo. BY MA'l l'l-TEW D. MANN, A. M., lll. D. Qt, G T IS now generally admitted that professional schools should be located at the Q great centres of population and wealth. This was not always so. The earlier I medical schools in this country were often placed in small country villages. 'K 2 The necessity for clinical teaching was not then fully appreciated, and so these I 9 earlier colleges were able, through the ability of their professors, notwithstanding ki their very meagre opportunities, to achieve fame and reputation. The schools 'D S at Fairfield and Geneva were fair examples. Gradually, with the growth of med- 8 ical knowledge and improved methods of instruction, the idea came to the mind V of the profession that schools in small places could not accomplish all that was desired, and the statement with which this article 0136115 was everywhere accepted. It was with a full appreciation of this idea, and with a wise foresight and faith in the future greatness of Buffalo, that, in 1846, a number of young and energetic lawyers and doctors assembled in a small office on Main Street, there to found the University of Buffalo. They decided to procure a charter from the Legislature, and to lay firm foundations for the building of an institution which should have primarily for its object the training of doctors and lawyers, but which should also have in its charter the full powers ofa university. Buffalo was then in a very early stage of its develop- ment, energy and vigor were more plentiful than money, but, with the proverbial push of pioneers, all obstacles were overcome, and the University was nrmly estab- lished. - Time has shown the wisdom of these men. Buffalo, from a small town of 30,000 inhabitants, has grown to be a great city of much more than 10 times that number. Wealth and material prosperity have multiplied in every way. The advent of the rail- roads has increased greatly its value as a distributing point, and brought in a very large circle of country as a contributor, so that now from every point of view it has become an ideal place for a medical school. i The first course of lectures in the new school was given in an old building, which had been remodeled for the purpose, by the faculty of seven professors. Five of the seven chairs were occupied by professors in the Geneva Medical College. They retained their connection with Geneva, and it was therefore necessary that the first course should be given in the spring. It began on the 24th day of February, 18-LT, and continued, as was customary in those days, for 16 weeks. The professors were Dr. james Hadley, Dr. Charles B. Coventry, Dr. james Webster, Dr. Charles A. Lee, Dr. Frank H. Hamilton, Dr. james P. White, and Dr. Austin Flint. Dr. C. L. Ford 27

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