THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

725 N. WOLFE STREET
DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY November 18, 1969 BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21205

Dr. David E. Rogers
Office of the Dean

Dear Dave,

On Monday, November 17th, a meeting of the faculty members of the
Department of Microbiology was held to discuss President Gordon's memor-
andum of October 13th concerning the proposed University Program in the
Allied Health Sciences. Two letters I received from senior members of
the department prompted me to call the meeting. The first, which Manfred
Mayer wrote on October 27th, I forwarded to you on November 3rd. A copy
of the second, which I received from Daniel Nathans last week, is attached.

At the meeting, all members of the department, except one, strongly
endorsed the position taken by Drs. Mayer and Nathans. The one dissenting
member, Patrick Murphy, was asked to summarize his views in writing, so
that you might read them. His letter is also attached.

I am writing this letter to convey to you the overwhelming preference
of the Microbiology staff for a separate School of Allied Health Sciences
“right from the start". The reasons for this preference are clearly
indicated in the Mayer-Nathans letters, with which I am in complete
agreement,

The prolonged discussions of this important prablem, which have
dragged on for nearly 3 years, have been discouraging to all concerned.
It now seems that the real reason for the inertia has been the reluc-
tance of all of the faculties (Homewood, Hygiene, and Medicine) to be-
come directly involved in the project, except in an advisory capacity.

This reluctance does not stem, in my opinion, from selfishness,
short-sightedness, or a failure to appreciate the crying need for
allied health personnel, but rather from a very genuine concern for
the future of the University.

If the School of Medicine is forced to assume "the basic responsi-
bility" for teaching allied health personnel, the general character of
its faculty will have to change. And in time the change will inevitably
drive away some of our most talented faculty members, who will prefer to
go elsewhere to pursue the kinds of professional careers to which they
are now dedicated.
The stakes in this decision are very high. I hope therefore
that you and President Gordon will reconsider it with the greatest
care and will leave open the possibility of creating a separate
faculty for the Allied Health Sciences. If plans for a separate
faculty were announced, I believe the general opposition to the
program would disappear promptly, and we would then be able to get
on with the job that needs so desperately to be done.

As I have already written to you, I forsee no difficulty in
our sharing teaching facilities with a new faculty. Nor do I
anticipate serious problems in our assuming a major advisory
role in the planning of appropriate academic programs. It is
only if the medical faculty is asked to assume the basic respons-~
ibility for the teaching that we will get into trouble.

Sincerely yours,

fiers

W. Barry Wood, Jr., M.D.

Enc.