32 Students to Enter LSU Medical School

              'A Dream Has Been Realized'
32 Students to Enter
LSU Medical School
Bv MARGARET MARTIN
Times Medical Writer
Thirty-two young students will
enter Louisiana State University
Medical School at Shreveport
today.
"A dream has been realized —
a medical school for Shreve-port,"
said Dr. Edgar Hull, dean
of the school at the Confederate
Memorial Medical Center Board
of Directors meeting this week.
It's been touch and go at times
since the first mention of the
medical school some 20 years
ago.
The status of state funds for
operation of the school have
fluctuated between a green "go
ahead" sianal. and a red. no
funds available for the medical
school."
Federal funds for construction
of a building were denied and a
State Committee will visit the
school within the next few weeks,
to again consider the application.
The number of students has
dropped from an estimated 50 to
32.
"At Long Last . . ."
But, despite the setbacks, the
s o m e t i m e disappointments.
Shreveport's medical school is
now a fact.
And. because it belongs to
Shreveport, Shreveporters should
be proud of the facility.
Its doctors, its facilities, its
students and the research that
goes on behind its doors, will go a
long way toward, not only giving
better patient care, but helping
to make Shreveport a great
medical center.
Although plans call for con-struction
of a $24 million medical
school on the grounds of Confed-erate
Memorial Medical Center,
classes will start today at Vet-erans
Administration Hospital.
Students will register on the
fifth floor of the facility where
administrative offices are locat-ed.
But classes spill out all over
the institution.
There are laboratories and
lecture rooms on the fifth, sixth,
seventh and eighth floors. The
library and gross anatomy labo-ratory
are in the basement of the
hospital and the pharmacology
department is in a separate
building.
The school will also make use
of the Stonewall Missile site,
donated by the U.S. Department
of Health, Education and Welfare
as a research facility and animal
quarters.
Seven buildings in the Linwood
Apartment complex have been
renovated for students who will
be living there while attending
the school.
The 296-unit complex was
purchased by LSU from the
Federal Housing Administration
for $400,000 for use by the
medical school.
Although the names of the
students haven't been released
yet, the youths represent 17
communities, including several
f r om Shreveport-Bossier City
area.
Twenty-five per cent of the
class is married and the average
age is between 21 and 22.
The students attended 10 col-leges
last year, which are LSU in
Baton Rouge and New Orleans,
Louisiana Tech, Northeast State
College, Northwestern State Col-ege.
Tulane University, Mc-
Neese State College, Centenary
College, the University of Cali-ornia
at Berkeley and the
University of Texas.
The class was selected from
over 500 applicants.
Curriculum for the first year,
according to Dr. George Menee-ly.
associate dean and coordina-tor
of plans and programs
includes anatomy, biochemistry,
physiology, radiology, clinics,
history of medicine, introduction
to comprehensive care, biometry
and human ecology.
Other administrative personnel
are Dr. George R. Meneely,
associate dean and coordinator
of plans and program; Dr. G. G.
Rudolph, assistant dean for basic
sciences; Dr. William T. Mc-
Elroy, assistant dean for admis-sions
and student affairs; Mayor
Drake, chief librarian; Miss
Dorothy E. Risinger, assistant
coordinator of plans and pro-gram;
Robert R. Graves, busi-ness
manager.
Heads of the various depart-ments
are Dr. Adrian F. Reed,
anatomy; Dr. Rudolph, biochem-istry:
Dr. Emil Kotcher, micro-biology;
Dr. Helmut M. Redetz-ki,
pharmacology and therapeu-ties,
and Dr. Meneely, physiolo-gy
and biophysics.