LSU in Indonesia: This Louisiana physician's challenging job: to help put an ailing medical school in the Far East on its feet

              ONE OF THE MEDICAL SCHOOL buildings used to be an opium factory. At the end of World War II, the students and teachers had to carry much of the school on their backs and flee to the mountains.
A few years ago, if a student wanted to get a seat in an 8 a. m. lecture, he'd somdfemes have to arrive in class before dawn.
These are the things that a Louisiana State university professor found out about his new Far Eastern campus when he arrived there in the summer of 1957. The campus was that of the University of Indonesia medical school in the capital city of Jakarta on the island of Java. The professor:  Dr. A. Sidney Harris, head of the physiology department of the LSI) medical school. Dr. Harris' mis-sion:  to help in a long-range project to put a medical school in a young republic on its feet.
The story of how Dr. Harris found himself on this colorful campus thousands of miles from home begins six years ago. At that time, Dr. Sutomo Tjokronegoro, professor of pathology at the University of Indonesia, came to the United States to seek help for his ailing medical school. He first reached an agreement with the University of California and then negotiated a contract with the federal international co-operation administration. The contract provided that faculty members from co-operating universities would go to the University of Indonesia on special leave to help in the development and training of a faculty and the reorganizing of a medical school. Under the terms of the agreement, there would be 10 American faculty members at the university at all times. Their housing, maintenance and certain other expenses would be borne by the Indonesian government. Teaching equipment and the salaries of the American teachers were to be provided from funds of the international co-operation administration.
In 1957, Dr. Harris became the first faculty member from a Louisiana medical school to become part of the Indonesian project.
Dr. Harris says he welcomed the opportunity because "there was a pioneering situation in a part of the world of great importance to us." Dr. Harris and his wife, Nancy, lived in Indonesia about a year and a half, from July, 1957, to November, 1958.
Dr. Harris' main job in Indonesia: set up a new physiology lab and act as an advisor to the physiology department. He also introduced into Indonesia the use of the heart-lung machine, which takes over the function of both organs during an operation.
During his stay at this new post, teacher Harris received an education himself. Traveling, listening, making friends, he and Mrs. Harris found out much about this 3000-island republic—its people and its history. On* of their main interests was, of course, their home base— the University of Indonesia itself. PHOTO: This building used to be an opium factory. It was remodeled and is now a  part of the  University of Indonesia's medical school ; The doctor takes a holiday and goes sightseeing, in Java. Prof. Harris traveled all over Indonesia studying land, people