University of Pennsylvania School of Allied Medical Professions records, 1949-1981 (bulk: 1970-1981).

Format:

Archive

Author/Creator:

University of Pennsylvania. School of Allied Medical Professions, creator.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

University of Pennsylvania.

Physical therapy--Study and teaching.

Physical therapy.

Occupational therapy.

Medical education.

Medical technology.

Genre:

correspondence

minutes (administrative records)

Photographs

reports

Penn Provenance:

Records were transferred to the University Archives, July 9, 1981.

Physical Description:

7 boxes (7.89 cubic feet)

Arrangement:

Organized into 3 series: I. Subject files II. Committees, councils, and other bodies III. Correspondence.

Place of Publication:

1949-1981

Biography/History:

The precursor of the School of Allied Medical Professions (SAMP) was the School of Auxiliary Medical Services, established in 1950 by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. This school brought together the Division of Physical Therapy, with the Philadelphia School of Occupational Therapy, which had merged with Penn that same year. The purpose of the school was threefold: to help address employment demand in the fields of occupational and physical therapy, to combine that training with the ability to earn a baccalaureate degree, and to enable Penn to better serve the community. In 1958, the Trustees of the University voted to change the name of the school to the School of Allied Medical Professions, which began to formally operate under this new name in the fall of 1960. The curriculum eventually expanded to provide training in Medical Technology and Oral Hygiene, as well as offer a postgraduate certificate program in either Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy to qualified students that already held a bachelor's degree. Ranked among the top two or three schools in the nation, the School of Allied Medical Professions consistently received more applicants than it could accept each year. Despite this, in 1976, a number of factors lead Dr. Thomas Langfitt, the Vice President for Health Affairs, to recommend that SAMP be "phased out" and shut down. A crucial factor that preceded this decision were the general financial difficulties that Penn experienced at this time and the related calls for Penn to bring its expenditures down to be in line with its income. Prior to this, a study had been conducted to look at the feasibility of combining the School of Nursing with the School of Allied Medical Professions, which resulted in a report that recommended against this. The report also pointed out that facilities in both schools were "deplorable" and that each school should invest in developing their own graduate programs. In light of these findings, in 1975 the School of Allied Medical Professions was awarded a $700,000 grant from the State of Pennsylvania to build new facilities for the school, but on the condition that Penn commit to accomplishing certain goals. It is unclear what these goals were, but President Martin Meyerson decided that Penn could not make this commitment, and as a result forfeited the grant. Subsequently, Dean Sidney Rodenberg resigned in protest and President Meyerson asked Dr. Langfitt to study the future of SAMP. As awareness grew that the future of the School of Allied Medical Professions was in question, an earnest effort was mounted to try to save the school. In December, 1976, the Faculty Senate and the University Council, each voted to not only keep SAMP, but to upgrade it to include a graduate program. SAMP faculty, students, and alumni, also sent hundreds of letters of support calling for Penn to keep the school. Despite this, President Meyerson, Provost Elliot Stellar, and Vice-President for Health Affairs Thomas Langfitt, each came to agree that the School of Allied Medical Professions should be phased out. Their justification for doing so was essentially on two grounds: the first was to serve as a means for the University to cut costs, and the second was that a school without a graduate program or research emphasis was not, "the preferred model for the university." With their backing, the Board of Trustees voted on January 14, 1977, to proceed with plans to phase out the school. The School of Allied Medical Professions operated for an additional four years, awarding its last degrees in the spring of 1981.

Summary:

The School of Allied Medical Professions records are arranged alphabetically and are organized into three series: Subject files, Committees, councils, and other bodies, and Correspondence. The Subject files series contains topical materials collected and maintained by the Office of the Dean. It contains plans, reports, procedures, budgets, surveys, events, capital needs, program information, photographs, historical information, statistics, and other topics. A significant portion of the subject files is taken up by materials related to the proposal to close the school and its subsequent review and closure. The Committees, councils, and other bodies series contains an assortment of records from a variety of committees, councils, boards, and other bodies. Consisting primarily of minutes, correspondence, and related reports, the matters addressed include space planning, student matters, position searches, long range planning, faculty affairs, honorary degrees, academic planning, and appointments. Of particular note are the records of the Executive Committee of the school and the Health Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees of the University. The Correspondence series contains a variety of letters and memorandum, largely to and from the Office of the Dean. The nature of the correspondence is largely typical of the work carried out by a dean of a medical school, but one exception is a selection of "letters of support" received during the period in which the future of the school was being considered.

OCLC:

1537978156