Deans, Dreams and a President: the Deans of Medicine at the University of Alberta
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Deans,Dreams and a President The Deans of Medicine at the University of Alberta 1913-2009 Deans J.W. Scott (1948-1959), J.J. Ower (1944-1948), A.C. Rankin (1919-1944) and W.C. Mackenzie (1959-1974) Deans D.R. Wilson (1984-1994), D.L. Tyrrell (1994-2004) and T.J. Marrie (2004-2009) by Robert Lampard, MDnnnn Copyright ©2011. All rights reserved by the author. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Lampard, Robert, 1940- Deans, dreams, and a president / Robert Lampard. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-9810382-1-6 1. Medical colleges--Alberta--Edmonton--Faculty-- History. 2. University of Alberta. Faculty of Medicine--History. 3. Deans (Education)--Alberta--Edmonton--History. 4. Deans (Education)--Alberta--Edmonton--Biography. I. Title. R749.A7L35 2011 610.71'1712334 C2011-902389-X First printing 2011 Written and edited by Robert Lampard M.D. Published by Robert Lampard M.D. 12-26540 Hwy 11 Red Deer County, Alberta T4E 1A3 Front Cover: UofA Deans of Medicine, 1921-1959, photo credit Moira Scott Finnigan, 1959. Back Cover: UofA Deans of Medicine 1984-2009, photo credit Robert Lampard, 2004; Walter C. Mackenzie HSC, photo credit P. Marsdon. Table of Contents Foreword . ii Preface . iii About the Author ..........................................v About the Book............................................v Introduction . vii Abbreviations. xxiii Profiles . 1 President Henry Marshall Tory 1913-1920 . 1 Dr. Allan Coats Rankin* 1920-1945 . 17 Dr. John James Ower 1945-1948 . 44 Dr. John William Scott 1948-1959 . 67 Dr. Walter Campbell Mackenzie 1959-1974 . 88 Dr. Donald Forbes (Tim) Cameron* 1974-1983. 114 Dr. Douglas Roy Wilson 1984-1994. 136 Dr. Lorne David Tyrrell 1994-2004. 158 Dr. Thomas James Marrie** 2004-2009. 183 Appendices. 193 Milestones . 197 Selected Publications of the Deans. 203 Photo and Insert Credits. 222 Index ................................................. 227 * There were two acting Deans, Dr. J.J. Ower (1939-1943) and Dr. Robert S. Fraser (1983/84). ** With Dr. Dawna Gilchrist ii Deans, Dreams and a President, at the UofA – Introduction DEANS, DREAMS AND A PRESIDENT FOREWORD In Deans, Dreams and a President, Robert Lampard provides a fascinating and informative glimpse into the history of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Alberta from the time of its founding in 1913 until 2009. The first president of the U of A, Henry Marshall Tory founded the Faculty of Medicine as part of the University - the first such Medical School in Canada to be formed within a University. A few years before Abraham Flexner had recommended that all medical schools should be part of a University. The first Dean of the Faculty, Dr. A C Rankin while working on the front lines during World War I described 30 cases of “Intermittent fever of obscure origin, occurring among British troops in France. The so called Trench fever.” We now know that this is a bacterial infection, transmitted by the bites of infected lice, due to Bartonella quintana. As you read this book you will learn not only about the eight deans, but also about legendary faculty members such as Moshier, Collip, Mewburn, Vant, Elliott, Levey, Callaghan, and Fraser. My predecessor and the seventh Dean in the book, Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, has followed in the tradi- tion of the best at U of A. An Infectious Diseases Clinician-Scientist he discovered the first treat- ment for hepatitis B and along with two colleagues was the first to grow hepatitis C in humanized mouse liver. Just like Tory, Tyrrell was a builder. The $600 million two new research buildings, one opened in 2008 and the other opened in 2009, are part of his legacy to U of A. Dr. Lampard, a physician from Red Deer is a medical historian by passion and avocation. He has written extensively on Alberta’s medical history and that experience has led to this book which is a rich tapestry of the events and people who have made Faculty of Medicine and Den- tistry what it is today. Thomas Marrie June 2009 Deans, Dreams and a President, at the UofA – Introduction iii PREFACE “The longer you can look back, the further you can look forward.”(1) Nine men have led the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine over its first 98 years - or 102 years since President Henry Marshall Tory’s first written documentation of his plans for a med- ical school.(2) Much is owed to Dr. Tory by the eight deans who have followed him, and by the medical students who have graduated from the UofA, for his belief that a medical program should be a priority for the fledging University. Tory’s 1913 dream of a full degree granting, accredited medical school in just over a decade, re- quired vision, determination, an evolving strategy, fortuitous timing, a willingness by the univer- sity and the government to support it, and a strong belief that it could happen. After the partial (three year) medical school program survived WWI, Tory realized that to graduate doctors that would stay in Alberta, then a relatively isolated part of Canada, required them to be fully trained in Alberta. That realization led to the creation of the only degree-granting medical school in Canada for 62 years - from 1883 to 1945. Perhaps not surprisingly, the role of Dr. Tory was far more significant than first thought. Tory was determined to create a faculty of medicine from within the university - a first in Canada. His building block strategy began, when he secured control of the provincial laboratory in 1911. It provided him with an opportunity to recruit teacher/pathologists in the Osler tradition after WWI. Then he adroitly acquired a hospital by offering a poplar grove for the Strathcona Hospital ,on the UofA grounds. It opened in 1913. Tory gambled on his first recruitment opportunity when he hired Dr. Allan Rankin sight unseen in 1914, as the first university appointed Director of the Provincial Laboratory. He only knew him through his public health work in Thailand, his clinical research in Montreal, his McGill background and reputation, and his references. But that was enough for the McGill trained Tory. To Dr. Tory’s misfortune, Dr. Rankin left almost immediately after his arrival, to join the #1 Cana- dian General Hospital staff in September 1914. He was soon sent overseas for over five years. Rankin returned from the war with an outstanding record, making Tory’s decision to appoint him as the first dean a straightforward one. Fortuitously, Rankin already knew future Dean J.J. (Johnny) Ower. The two physicians re-met over- seas in December 1914. By the end of the war Ower was looking for a pathology post. Rankin was looking for a teacher. The two fit perfectly as they continued their life-long friendship. Dr. Ower’s experience allowed Dr. Rankin to answer the war-call in October 1939, when he departed for another four years, leaving the faculty to carry on almost seamlessly in Ower’s hands. Dr. Ower’s successor, Dr. John Scott, became the first dean with a clinical background - in bio- chemistry and medicine. He succeeded by sheer hard work. Scott in turn transferred the mantle to the charismatic surgeon Dr. Walter Mackenzie, whose legacy is still being felt. Dr. Mackenzie groomed Dr. D.F. (Tim) Cameron, who earned his deanship through diligence, compatibility, loyalty, and a willingness to tolerate continuous hospital planning, redesigning and construction for a decade. His successor Dr. Douglas Wilson was the first dean appointed from outside the faculty and province. Dr. Wilson saw the opportunity to expand medical research in a newly opened Health Science Centre. A decade later Dr. Lorne Tyrrell became the glue that kept the faculty together through the fiscal crisis of 1994-1996, leading the faculty through the most diffi- cult decade since Dr. Rankin weathered the depression. Dr. Marrie continued the faculty down the path set by his predecessor – more growth, more construction, and more integration of med- ical care, research and education. The story of the faculty continues to unfold in the hands of the new Dean Philip Baker, who ar- rived from Manchester, England to take his post in September 2009, just in time to face the re- verberations and budgetary impacts of the mini-recession of 2008/09. Researching Dr. Tory and the deans revealed some common characteristics. The first three lead- ers were descendents of United Empire Loyalists. The first four leaders were McGill graduates. They all sought, as Dr. Mackenzie articulated, to contribute to the Canadian medical fabric, as a way of improving medicine in Alberta. 1. Churchill, Winston S.,“Mr. Churchill and the Physicians”, speech reprinted in the CMAJ 50: 501-504, June 1944, from the Lancet of March 11, 1944. 2. Tory, Henry Marshall, “The University of Alberta”, Western Canadian Medical Journal 3: 560-562, 1909. iv Deans, Dreams and a President, at the UofA – Introduction Dr. Tory and the first five deans responded to the call of the colors during both world wars, a de- cision which materially affected their lives and the life of the school. During WWII almost 400 physicians enlisted including 22 faculty, representing over 70% of the 1940 registered doctors in Alberta. It was a remarkable contribution. Another characteristic of the faculty was its response to accreditation surveys, beginning in 1918. Successful surveys were mandatory to permit the trans-border movement of undergraduate and later graduate physicians and dentists. The accreditation reports either confirmed the high quality of instruction, or highlighted the deficiencies, which were always addressed with dispatch through the efforts of the faculty, and where necessary the university and the government. An unexpected finding stemmed from the early non-medical research initiative of Dr.