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NWIAT) OAL FUND For MEDCAC,

Epucarion

National Fund for'Medital Education, Ince
Minutes of Initial Meeting of the Trustees
held at the Cloud Club, New York, May 12, 1949

There were present in person 33 Trustees and three Trustees
were represented by proxies. There were also present by invita
tion members of the University Presidents! Committee, members of
the Executive Council of the Association of American Medical
Colleges, members of the Council on Education and Hospitals of
the American Medical Association and various University Trustees
and Advisers, who during the past winter had kindly cooperated
in the organization work leading to the formation of the Fund.

Mr. James B. Conant, President of Harvard University, pre«#
sided as Temporary Chairman and called the meeting to order at
4 P. Me

Introductory Remarks by the Chairman:

The Chairman reviewed the work of the past year leading
up to the calling of this meetinge He told of the studies and
meetings conducted by the Council of the Association of American
Medical Colleges together with the Council on Medical Education
and Hospitals of the American Medical Association, who brought
together a committee of laymen under the chairmanship of Mr.
Rarl Buntinge

He explained the studies and meetings of the voluntary com
mittee of six University Presidents' comprised of Chancellor
Chase, Mre Conant, Dr. Day, General Eisenhower, Mr. Seymour and
Governor Stassen, who had originally met with Mre Albert De
Lasker and a group of laymen consisting of Trustees and Advisers
of the six Universitiese

The Chairman further told of the agreement early in February
to unite all efforts and the decision to form the Fund, which was
followed by the preparation of the Preliminary Statement and the
sending of it and invitations to 116 men and women to join
together as Trustees of the Fund. 61 Trustees accepted these
invitations and Mr. Herbert Hoover graciously consented to act
as Honorary Chairman. A temporary Steering Committee was formed
in April whose members signed a Certificate of Incorporation
pursuant to the Membership Corporations Law of the State of New
York. This Certificate was duly approved and filed with the

Secretary of New York State on May 9, 1949, thus incorporating
the Fund.

The Chairman further told of the efforts in initiating a
campaign to raise $100,000 of seed-money; it was estimated this
amount would be required for the organizing expenses and the
setting up of the Fund. The temporary Steering Committee at
its meeting in April discussed the problems and policies of
fund-raising and authorized the calling of this initial meet-
ing of the Board of Trustees, as well as designating Messrs.
Conant, Given and Stassen a Subcommittee to canvass the field
for the selection of nominees for officers of the Funde

The Chairman then invited Dr. Gregg to interpret the needs
of medical education to the Trustees:

le Address by Dr. Alen Gregg, Director for the Meow srl
Sciences, The Rockefeller Foundation.

Dr. Gregg first turned to the historical backge sind of
medical teaching beginning with the Flexner Report of 1910
which, he said, had revolutionized the whole basis ‘‘or the
training of physicians in the United States, The tre-
mendous forward strides achieved by the medical profersion
and the attainment of its present pre-eminence are the
result of curricula then formulated and standards es-
tablished; their adoption, he said, was made possible by
the $250,000,000 of gifts made over a period of years by
the Carnegie, Rockefeller, some other foundations and many
private donors, As a direct proof of the medical schools!
advance, Dr. Gregg stated that it is possible in the United
States to find a competently trained physician in almost
any part of the country for the adequate care of any medi-
cal case arising by turning to a medical directory and
ascertaining a doctor's school and the year of his gradua~
tion. Doctors graduating after the transformation of the
schools may be assumed to be competently trained, This
degree of change, he said, has not occurred in any other
country in the world,

Dre Gregg then explained that the great progress that
had been made from 1910 until the coming of the depression
in 1932 was halted by a chain of events and circumstances
that threaten to have a disastrous effect upon the future
quality of all medical education. These events were the
following, he said:

The first blow was the depression which resulted in a
loss of oneethird in the income from the endowments of the
medical schools and the cessation of further giving.

The second blew was the war which stopped the training
of an adequate number of junior medical teachers and put
pressure on the schools to expand their enrollments too
rapidly and to institute accelerated courses without first
being given the time to build up their teaching staffse
There is little doubt that the patriotic response of the
medical schools to the war emergency caused a lowering of
teaching standards and a distinct deterioration in the
quality of medical educatien,

The third blow came with the inflation which further
reduced the purchasing power of endowment income to the
point where today this source of income to the schools is
half what it was prior to 1932, A further adverse effect
of the inflation and the added strain it has placed upon
medical school finances has been their consequent inability
to pay attractive salaries to the teaching staffs in line
with current living costs and thus to attract an inflew
of able and desirable junior teachers in sufficient nume
bers. It is significant that today there are 139 full
professors of anatomy in all medical schools taken
together, while there are only 20 instructors; there
should be of course at least three times as many of these
Juniors.

Dre Gregg then told the meeting of the 78 medical
colleges in the country of which 34 are publicly support.
ed by the state while 44 are privately supported. He
listed those states in which there are no medical schoels
and explained that the current annual operating expenses
of all 78 schools totaled approximately $51,000,@00 with
an enrollment of 22,000~edd students. He set forth the
offsetting income to sustain these expenses under the
following headings: From tuition $12,800,000, or approxi+
mately 24%; from endowments $7,080,000, or 14%; from other
private sources $13,700,000, or 27%; and finally from the
taxpayers in the form of state aid $17,500,000, or 35%.

These figures, he said, when broken down to a per=
student basis, indicated an average tuition of $550
against an average cost of $2,290 a student per years the
actual tuitions varied between a low of $25#@ and a high of
$800, and the annual cost per student, excluding the cest
of research, between $600 and above $5,000.

In summing up these financial statistics ef the medie
cal scheols, Dr. Gregg pointed out that in many instances
those universities having such schools had been forced by
their financial difficulties to choose between a reduction
of their medical schools or a raid upon the endowment in-
come of their other departments. It was fortunate for
medical education, he remarked, that such raids had been
carried out temporarily but this was not a practice that
could be expected to be continued indefinitely.
After thus outlining the financial crisis of the medtu
cal schoels, Dr. Gregg told briefly of the parallel situa-
tion existing in the cases of the dental and nursing
schools. He stated that the shortage of nurses was acute
and that the same adverse consequences caused by the de=#
pression, the war and inflation were likely to lead to an
early deterioration in the standards and quality of teach

awd? ing in these two important fields. A conservative estimate
who u™ OF students¥entering schools of nursing is 65,000 annually;
for 1948 it was only 35,000. As it 1s with the medical
schools, so it is with the dental and nursing schools; they
are heading down-hill,.

In clesing, Dr. Gregg said it was clear that a National
Fund for Medical Education is urgently needed to bring fi-~
nancial succor to all medical education, He expressed the
belief that besides calling upon the corporetions and labor
unions to support the Fund, a special gifts campaign might
well be set up in an attempt to collect annual donations of
$100 each from a large number of the 16¢,000 practicing
physicians. He said he was well aware of their generous
giving of free service in clinics and hospitals but he
nevertheless expressed the belief that a large number would
gladly contribute $100 annually to this important effort to
halt a further decline in the standards of the profession -
a decline that is inevitable unless the medical schools
soon receive sufficient added income with which to augment
the salaries of their teaching staffse Dr. Gregg emphasized
that good health for the nation was obtainrble by an applica.
tion of intelligence and money for medical education.

The Chairman thereupon thanked Dr. Gregg for his most
interesting address and stated that the meeting would then cone
sider the next items on the agenda,

2e Discussion and consideration of suggestions for officers
ol the Fund.

The Chairman reported on the findings of the Subcommittee
for the selection of nominees for officers of the Fund and
advised that certain difficulties had been encountered in
persuading a suitable man to accept the active chairman-
ship of the Fund, He advised that there appeared to be
certain misgivings in some quarters as to the feasibility
of obtaining substantial gifts from corporations and labor
unions for the support of a Fund dedicated to relieve the
present financial crises in medical education, He ex»
pressed the opinion that this challenge be accepted and proe
posed that the Fund be organized on a trial or exploratory
basis to operate for a period from three to six monthse
He suggested the following program:
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The assembling of the facts and figures regard-
ing medical education with the help of two Medi-
cai Counclis and others,

The setting up of a small staff with an Executive
Director, under the direction of an Executive Come
mittes, who with the aid of legal and professional .
advice will prepare a comprehensive plan for fund»
raistar on un adequate scale with particulsur
emphasis on corporation and Labor union girtse

The insatituricn of a semple fund-raising campsign
with a sma.i but selected group of leading curpora-=
bticns in an atrempt to obtain pledges totaling a
substantial sum such as “1,000,000, and thus to
prove the feasioility of securing corporation gifts
for medical education.

Finally, upon the conclusion of this trial period,
to submit the results to the Board of Trustees for
their final decision and the setting up of a
permanent organization for the Pund,

The Chairman then called upon Mr. Given and Governor
Stassen to comment upon his report of the Subcommittee and
his recommendations, These recommendations were thereupon
approved by Messrs. Given and Stassen and after discussion
by the Trustees were unanimously adopted.

Se Resolutions concerning the By-Laws and other organiza~
tion matters:

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B,

Judge Robert P, Patterson presented the following
resolution:

"Resolved, that the By-Laws as prepared and sub-~
mitted to each of the Trustees be and hereby are
adopted as the By-Laws of the National Fund for
Medical Education, Inc."

Mrs. Anna M. Rosenberg seconded the resolution
which was submitted to a vote by the Trustees and
unanimously adopted.

Mr. Samuel De Leidesdorf presented the following
resolution:

"Resolved, that Mr. Henry C. Brunie and Mr. S.
SIoan Colt be and they hereby are eleeted as
Trustees of the Fund, to serve until the next
annual meeting of the Fund or until their
successors are duly elected and qualify."
De

Be

6

Mre Earl Bunting seconded the resolution which
was submitted to a vote by the Trustees and
unanimously adoptede

fr: Devereux Ce Josephs presented the following
resolution:

tResolved, that pursuant to Article V, Section I,

of the By-Laws of this Corporation, Messrs< Donald
Balfour, Earl Bunting, Henry C. Brunie, William Ee
Cotter, Victor Emanuel, Theodore Re Gamble; William
Be Given, Jre, William Green, Samuel D. Leidesdorf,
George We Merck and Philip Murray be and they hereby
are appointed an Fxecutive Committee to hold office
commencing on the 12th day of May 1949, until their
successors are appointed,"

Mre Eustace Seligman seconded the resolution which
was submitted to a vote by the Trustees and
unanimously adopted.

Mr. William B. Given presented the following reso
lution:

Resolved, that pursuant to Article VI, Section I,
of the By-Laws, Messrs. Harry Wi. Chase, James Be
Conant, Edmund E. Day, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Charles Seymour, Harold F. Stassen, Doctors

Joseph C. Hinsey, Donald G. Anderson, Arthur Ce
Bachmeyer, Walter Bloedorn, Victor Johnson and

H. G. Weiskotten, be and they hereby are elected
members of the Medical, Educational and Scientific
Advisory Council of the Fund."

Mre Devereux Ce Josephs seconded the resolutien
which was submitted to a vote by the Trustees and
unanimously adopted.

Mr. William E. Cotter presented the following
resolutions

“Resolved, that pursuant to Article VII, Section I,
of the By-Laws, Mr. Chase Mellen, Jre be and hereby
is elected the Executive Director of the Fund at
a salary to be fixed by the Fxecutive Committece

Mr. Ralph Lowell secondedthe resolution which was
submitted to a vote by the Trustees and unani-
mously adopted.
4, Reportse

The Chairman thereupon submitted the follewing report
concerning the seedemoney campaign:

The following Foundations and others have graciously
approved gifts to the Fund:

Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation $10,000
Rockefeller Foundation | 10,000
Carnegie Corporation of New York 10,000
Commonwealth Fund 10,000
Eli Lilly and Company 10,000
George F, Baker Trust 10,000
John and Mary Re Markle Foundation 10,000
Davella Mills Foundation 5,000

Total $75,000

The following Foundations have similar gifts under
consideration but their trustees have not as yet taken
action thereon:

New York Foundation

Kresge Foundation

Dorothy Heand Lewis S. Rosenstiel Foundation
Altman Foundation

Bulova Foundation

Doughnut Foundation

Irving Geist Foundation

Lillia Babbitt Hyde Foundation

Felix Me and Frieda Schiff Warburg Foundation

The Chairman then called upon Governor Harold E. Stassen to

discuss with the Trustees certain. phases of corporation and labor
union gifts,

Se Address by Hon. Harold EF, Stassen, President of Univer-
sity of Pennsylvaniae

Mre Stassen stated that he would be very brief in

covering the few points he wished to discuss in regard te
the Funds

He said there was no doubt in his mind and he believed
in the minds of the distinguished men and women, who had
thoughtfully joined together to make up the Board of
Trustees, but that there was a real need for this Funde

The plan to explore the possibilities of corporation
and labor union gifts seemed sound to Mr. Stassene He
pointed out that in our competitive economy there was a
growing realization that the Opportunity for corporations
8

and labor unions freely to garner gains carried with it

the responsibility to aid in the support, for example, of
our privately maintained institutions of higher education
and similar endeavors that were vital to the progress of
the nation. He emphasized that the private medical schools
were guardians of medical and academic freedom and
accepted the responsibility to maintain the highest possi-«
ble standards of learning in‘that specialized and
important field of education,

In conclusion llr. Stassen explained that the burden
to give to medical education as proposed by the Fund would
not fall too heavily on any single corporation or labor
union, since the requests for gifts would be widely spread
and, it was hoped, made by many.

The Chairman then thanked Mr, Stassen and invited Mr,
Hoover to address the Trustees,

6. Address by Hon, Herbert Hoover, Honorary Chairman of
the Hund:

Mr, Hoover expressed his pleasure in being present
and spoke of his personal interest in the National Fund
for Medical Education,

He said it was recognized by all thoughtful persons
that there was @ serious shortage of physicians in the
United States and he cited the recommendation of the
Commission On Organization Of The Executive Branch Of The
Government that had felt obliged to oppose the spending
of $500,000,000 by the Federdl government for the build»
ing of much. needed hospitals, Mr. Hoover stated that
this decision was made for the simple reason that today
there were not available enough doctors and other trained
personnel adequately to man such a greatly expanded
hospital plant,

A system of Federal’ scholarships was not the answer
to this problem, he said, because the medical and allied
schools did not have presently’ the capacity to properly
train an enlarged student bodye He then pointed out that
one was led to the conclusion that a determined effort
should be made to bring adequate financial support to the
medical colleges; such support was essential to augment
their capacity for training an increasing number of
highly qualified’doctors and thus raise the national
health standards.

Mr, Hoover concluded that there was a sound economic
basis for the Fund which should energetically seek added
private aid for medical education; clearly the Fund de-
served the backing of all.
Te Adjournment.

After thanking Mr. Hoover for his address and the
Trustees and guests for their kindness in attending, the
Chairman declared the meeting adjournede

Respectfully submitted by
Chase Mellen, Jre

Acting Secretary of the Meeting

Dated: May 12, 1949

(Attached hereto is a list of the Trustees of the Funde)
TRUSTEES

NATIONAL FUND FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION, INC,

Herbert Hoover, Honorary Chairman

Winthrop W. Aldrich
“Donald Balfour, M.D.
William B. Bell
Mary McLeod Bethune
Elmer H. Bobst
*Kenry C. Brunie
*Earl Bunting

Carl Byoir

Se Sloan Colt
tWilliam E. Cotter
Howard S,. Cullman
Walter J. Cummings
Raoul E, Desvernine
Michael F. Doyle
“Victor Emanuel

James V, Forrestal
*Theodore R. Gamble
Bernard F., Gimbel
William B. Given, Jr.
James A. Gray
William Green

Fred G. Gurley
Oveta Culp Hobby

B. Brewster Jennings
Eric A. Johnston
Devereux C,. Josephs
Meyer Kestnbaum
Edgar Kobak

Frank H, Lahey, M.D.
Robert Lehman

“Samuel D. Leidesdorf
M. Albert Linton
Robert A. Lovett
Ralph Lowell
Benjamin E,. Mays

‘George W. Merck
Michael A, Morrissey
Seeley G. Iludd, M.D.

“Philip Murray
Edward J. Noble
William 5S, Paley
F. D. Patterson
Robert P,. Patterson
Joseph M, Proskauer
Qwen J. Roberts
Winthrop Rockefeller
Anna M. Rosenberg
Thomas J. Ross
Eustace Seligman
Spyros P, Skouras
Alfred P. Sloan, dr.
Hermon D. Smith
E. Tappen Stannard
John A. Stevenson
Thomas J. Watson
Ernest T. Weir

Allen 0. Whipple, M.D.

Alexander F. Whitney
George Whitney
John S. Zinsser

“Members of the Executive Committee