The records consist of material created and compiled by the staff of the Medical School Sesquicentennial Office. The records include a variety of information about the planning and production of special events, and publications and publicity for the 150-year anniversary of the Medical School.
The collection is divided into eight series: Sesquicentennial Committee Materials, Publicity, Exhibits and Displays, Events, Audio-Visual, Publications, and Artifacts.
The University of Michigan Medical School was founded in 1848 and graduated its first class in 1850. The school celebrated its centennial in 1950, so in March 1997, the dean of the Medical School, Lorris Betz, began planning a sesquicentennial celebration for the Medical School for the year 2000. An administrative committee created a plan for the celebration and created an office to coordinate the celebration. The plan, approved in March 1998 included the publication of a book and video, exhibits and displays for the University of Michigan community and the Medical Center, departmental events, a symposium, regional meetings, and a variety of ceremonies and celebrations, beginning with a convocation ceremony in October 1999, through a gala final celebration in October 2000. Allen S. Lichter continued the plans when he became dean in December, 1998.
The Sesquicentennial office operated from 1998 until the end of 2000, and oversaw the implementation of the sesquicentennial plan and publicity. Staff of the sesquicentennial office included head coordinator Kate Schuch, Linda Diebold, Deborah Grifka and consultant Jean Horrigan. A sesquicentennial committee was formed of doctors from each of the departments, representatives from the Medical School dean's office, the Medical Center Alumni and Development Office, the Historical Center for the Health Sciences, and the sesquicentennial staff, chaired by Robert Bartlett. The committee met from 1998 through 2000 to coordinate the sesquicentennial celebrations.
The committee hired a public relations firm, Franco Public Relations, to coordinate a national publicity campaign for print, radio and television. Recognition was received from a number of sources. The Medical School Sesquicentennial was noted in the United States Congressional Record, was the subject of a Journal of the American Medical Association issue, as well as numerous articles published in local and national newspapers and magazines. Segments about the sesquicentennial were aired on the NBC Today Show and Detroit Radio WJR-AM station's morning show in February 2000. A logo design for the sesquicentennial was created and used for stationery, stickers, invitations, brochures, and a variety of merchandise.
A number of exhibits and displays were created for the sesquicentennial. A time line of accomplishments was created as a poster and displayed on the sesquicentennial web site. Alumni were asked for memories, and their letters created a "Memory Lane" display, both within the medical center and on the web site. The Medical Center also had a variety of displays within the buildings, including class photograph displays, alumni hall of honor, a display of an iron lung machine, a display of antique surgeons' tools and a turn-of-the-century doctor's office. The University Art Museum also held an exhibition titled Seeing is Healing, The Visual Arts of Medicine. Historical Markers were designed and placed around the campus where the original medical buildings once stood.
A number of large events were planned for the sesquicentennial year. The kickoff event, a convocation in October 1999, was held at the same time as an all-alumni reunion. The convocation brought together distinguished alumni speakers and paid tribute to the Medical School's history. A symposium, speakers, and small events celebrated the sesquicentennial until the finale week which included a Medical Center birthday party luncheon, and a gala dinner to close the year's events.
In addition, a video was created to publicize the history of the Medical School with narration by University of Michigan alumnus Mike Wallace. A book on the school Not Just Any Medical School by Horace Davenport was revised and published for the sesquicentennial. The sesquicentennial office also published Know Thy Place, a compendium of biographies of notable Medical School alumni.
The Sesquicentennial committee involved the students by creating a "day in the life of a medical school student" display. The student were given 33 disposable cameras and told to photograph student life. The sesquicentennial brought together the whole of the Medical School, alumni, faculty, staff, and students, to celebrate its heritage.
For more information on the Medical School, please see the Medical School web site: http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool. For more archival information please see the University of Michigan Medical School finding aid at the Bentley Library.
