National Fund for'Medi'Yk1 Education, Inc. Minutes of Initial Meeting of the Trustees held at the Cloud Club, New York, Mag 12, 1949 There were present in person 33 Trustees and three Trustees were represented by proxies. There were also present by invitct. 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. M. Introductory Remarks by the Chairman: up to the calling of this meeting. 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 hqr. Earl Bunting. The Chairman reviewec? the work of the past year leading He explained the studies and meetings of the voluntary corno raittee of six University Presidents' comprised of Chancellor Chase, Mr. Conant, Dr. Day, General Eisenhower, Mr. Seymour and Governor Stassen, who had originally met with Mr. Albert Do Lasker and a group of laymen consisting of Trustees and Advisers of the six Universities. 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. Invitations and Mr. Herbert Hoover graciously consented to act as Honorary Chairman, 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, 61 Trustees accepted these A temporary Steering Committee was formed 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 2 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 Fund, The Chairman then invited Dr. Gregg to interpret the needs of medical education to the Trustees: Is Address b Dr. Alen Gregg,FDipeLtor for the SI):.'. - .-- ::.L Sciences hTomeller oundation. - Dr. Gregg first turned to the historical backgp;-i.nd of medical teaching beginning with the Flexner Report 1910 which, he said, had revolutionized the whole basis .I or the training of physicians in the TJnited Sta5eu. The ti-+ mendous forward strides achieved by the medical prof t ;.sion and the attainment of it3 present prc-eminence arc the result of curricula then formulated and standards 8s- 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 medfcnl schools' advance, Dr. Gregg stated that it is possible in the United States to find B competently trained physician in almost any part of the country for the adequate care of any medi- cal cage arising by turning to a medical directory and ascertaining 8 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. Dr. Gregg then explained that the great progreazs 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 one-third in the income from the endoments of the medical schools and the cessation of further giving. The second blow 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 vithout first being given the time to build up their teaching staffs. There is little doubt that the patriotic response of tb8 a medical schools to the war emergency caused a lowering of teaching standards and a distinct deterioration in the quality of medical education. 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 1ivin.g costs and thus to attract an inflow of able and desirable junior teachers in sufficient nun= 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 juni 3r s . Dr, 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 schools and explained that the current annual operating expenses of all 78 schools totaled approximately $51,000,800 with an enrollment of 22,000-odd 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 $7,3@0,000, 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 pf $550 against an average cost of $2,290 a student per year; the actual tuitions varied between a low of $25), and a high of $800, and the annual cost per student, excluding the cost of research, between $600 and above $5,0001 IR summing up these financial statistics of the mediu cal sch~ols, 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 fop 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. 4 After thus outlining the financial crisis of the medi- cal schools, 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 vias 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- A conservative estimate s-%"f%=ventering schools of nursing is 65,000 annually; for 1948 it was only 35,000. As it is with the medical schools, so it is with the dental and nursing schools; they are heading down-hill. ~d~~ ing in these two important fields. &o c vY--..." In clssing, Dr. Gregg said it was clear that 8 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 corporrtions 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 160,000 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 meZical schools soon receive sufficient added income with which to augment the salaries of their teaching staffs. Dro Gregg emphasized that good health for the nation was obtainrble by an applica- tion of intelligence and money for medical education, The Chaiman thereupon thanked Dr. Gregg for his most interesting address and stated that the meeting would then con- sider the next items on the agenda. 2. Discussion and consideration of suggestions for officers of` 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 dedioated to relieve the present financial crises in medical education, He ex- pressed the opinion that this challenge be accepted and pro- posed that the Fund be organized on a trial or exploratory basis to operate for a period from three to six months. He suggested the following program: 5 A. B, C, D. The The assembling of the facts and figures regard- ing medical education with the help of two Medi- cal Counclls and othersa The l.nnt.it.w.::.cn T?' a sctmple fund-raisiag cm;?~ign v~th a srna'i; III:.~, seleated group of lending c.mpo=.a- -1;icn.c; 1.3 an at?e:npt to obtain pledges totailng a aiibstantial sum such as <~1,000,000, and thc.s to prove the feasibility of securing corporction gifts for medical education, Finally2 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 Fund. Chairman then called upon Mr. Given and Governor Stassen to comment upon his report of the Subcommittee and his recommendationso These recommendations were thereupon approved by Plessrs-. Given and Stassen and after discussion by the Trustees were unanimously adopted. 3. Resolutions concerning the By-Laws md other organiza- ti on ZaTt%Es : A, BO Judge Robert P. Patterson presented the following re soh ti on : "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 Pl. Rosenberg seconded the resolution which was submitted to a vote by the Trustees and unanimously adopt e d. Mr. Samuel D. Leidesdorf presented the following resolu ti on: "Resolved, that hlr. Henry C. Brunie and Mr. SI Sloan Colt be and they hereby are elected as Trustees of the Fund, to serve until the next annual meeting of the Fund or until their successors are duly elected and qualify," 6 c .i Do E. Mr. Earl Bunting seconded the resolution which was submitted to a vote by the Trustees and unanimously adopted. Mr; Devereux Co Josephs presented the following r e s o Lu t i on : "Resolved, that pursuant to Article V, Section I, of the By-Laws of this Corporation, Kess??s, Donald DalZour, Earl Bunting, Henry Co Brunie, 'Jlilliam E. Cotter, Victor Emmuel, Theodore Ro Gamble, William B, Given, Jrnp William Green, Samuel Do Leidesdorf, George 'Jvc Merck and Philip Murray be and they hereby are appointed an Executive Committee to hold office commencing on the 12th day of May 1949, un'cil their successors are appointed." Mrr Euatace 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, o? th e By-Laws, tlessrs, Harry 7J'I. Chase, James Be Conant, Edmund E, Day, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Charles Seymour, Harold El Stassen, Doctors Joseph C. Hinsey, Donald G. Anderson, Arthur Ce Bachmeyer, Walter Eloedorn, Victor Johnson and H. G. Neiskotten, be and they hereby are elected members of the Medical, Educational and Scientific Advisory Council of the Fund." MrO Devereux C. Josephs seconded the resolution which was submitted to a vote by the Trustees and unanimously adopted, Mr. William E, Cotter presented the following res olu t 1 on: "Resolved, that pursuant to Article VII, Section I, of the By-Laws, Mr. Chase Mellen, Jr. be and hereby is elected the Executive Director of the Fund at a salary to be fixed by the Executive Committee. Mr. Ralph Lowell secondedthe resolution which was submitted to a vote by the Trustees and unani- mously adopted. 7 4, Reports. concerning the seed-money campaign: The Chairman thereupon submitted the follswing reporf The following Foundations and others have graciously approved gifts to the Fund: Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation $10,000 Rocker eller 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 Total $75,000 Davella Mills Foundation 5,000 The following Foundations have similar gifts undep consideration but their trustees have not as yet taken action thereon: New York Foundation Kre sge Foundation Dorothy H,and Lewis S. Rosenstiel Foundation Altman Foundation Bulova Founda t 1 on Doughnut Foundation Irving Geist Foundation Lfllia Babbitt Hyde Foundation Felix MI 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, 5. Address by Hon. Harold El Stassen, President of Univer- sity of Pennsylvania. Mr. Stassen stated that he would be very brief in covering the few points he wished to discuss in regard te the Fund. He said there was no doubt in h-is 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 Fund. The plan to explore the possibilities of corporation and labor union gifts seemed sound to Mr. Stassen. He pointed out that in our competitive economy there was a growing realization that the opportunity for corporations 8 and labor unions fieely to garner gains carried with it the responsibility to aid in the support, for example, of our privately maintained institutions of higher education and simil~ endeavors that were vital to the progress of the nation. He emphasized that tho private medical schools were guardians of medical and academic freedom and accepted the responsibility to maintain tho highest possi- ble standards of learning in'that specialized and important field of education. In conclusion Hr. 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 uni6r1, since the requests for gifts would be widely spread and, it was hoped, made by many. The Chairman then thanked'EIr. Stassen and invited Nr. Hoover to address the Trustees. 6. Address by Hon. Herbert Hoover, IIonorary Chairman of the P'und: -- Mr. Hoover expressed his pleasure in being present and spoke of his persbnal interest in the National Fund for Medical Education. He said it was recognized by all thoughtful persons that there was 8 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 Fedoral government for the build- ing of much needed hospitals. I&. Hoover stated that this decision was made for the simple reason that today there were not available enough doctors and other trained personnel adeqljately 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 body. 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 wa3 essential to augment their capacity for training an increasing number of hiehly 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. 9 7. Adjournment. Trustees and guests for their kindness in attending, the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned. After thanking Mr. Hoover for his address and the Respectfully submitted by Chase Mellen, Jrr Acting Secretary of the Meeting Dated: May 12, 1949 (Attached hereto is a list of the Trustees of the Fund,) TRUSTEES NATIONAL FUND Foil IZEDICAL EDUCATION, INC . - Herbert Hoover, Honorary Chairman Winthrop W, Aldrich %Donald Balf our, M.D. William B. Eel1 Nary rkLe od Be thune Elmer 11. Bobst .;cI-:enry C, Brunie -:*Earl Bunting Carl Byoir S, Sloan Colt %William E. Cotter Howard S, Cullman Walter J, Cummings Raoul E, Desvernine Michael F, Doyle *Vi c tor Emanue 1 Jams V. Forrestal +:Theodore R. Gamble Bernard F, Glmbel %William B. Given, Jr. James A, Gray WkLllim Green Fred G, Gurley Oveta Culp Hobby B , Brews tar Jennings Eric A. Johnston Devereux C. Joseph AiIeyer Kes tnbaum Edgar Kobak Frank H, Lahey, M.D. Robert Lehman +Samuel D. Leidesdorf 1.7. Albert Linton Robert A. Lovett Ralph Lowell Ben jmin E. Mags Nichael A, hlorrissey Seeley G. I.ludd, P.I.D. Edward J, Noble Vlilliam S. Paley F. D. Patterson Robert P, Patterson Joseph M. Proskauer Owen J, Roberts Wlnthrop Rocker eller Anna El. Rosenberg Thomas J. Ross Eustace Seligman Spyros P. Skouras Alfred P, Sloan, Jr. Hermon D. Smith E, Tappen Stannard John A, Stevenson Thomas J. Watson Ernest T, Weir Allen 0, Whipple, N.D. Alexander F. Whitney George Whitney John S. Zinsser %George W. I'Ierck .'.:.Philip Murray ".Members of the Executive Codttee