Western Reserve University School of Medicine Class of 1960
Tony Greco, Mike McCoy, Hod Rowen and Vil Ciemens are excited about the rapidly approaching reunion and invite you to help us celebrate. Why start so early with these plans? Simply stated, we old folks take longer to do things gracefully.
For previous reunions we heard all of the excuses for not attending. Now that most of those are no longer valid, you have no reason not to attend. Apart from seeing the massive changes on campus, wouldn't you like to see your old classmates again? There is so much to tell and share.
As you may know, the university and the school of medicine have experienced some min(maj)or problems but those are all behind us. We have a new Dean, Pamela Davis and a new University President, Barbara Snyder. Now that women are in charge, the place should be kinder and gentler.
The university was having an identity problem and couldn't decide what to call itself. For a while, Case was the name but now it is again called CWRU. Perhaps we can push for a return to plain WRU. "A rose by any other name..."
Do you remember when we were one of the earliest classes to experience the "new" curriculum? We had no idea of how fortunate we were to be exposed to a new way of learning medicine. Well, they have done it again. We just finished a whole year of another new curriculum. It will take some time to acclimate.
Those of you who are interested in teaching may want to spend time finding out more about the curriculm changes. Modernity has crept in. You should see the lecture halls filled with students carrying WIFI laptops. Microscopes are out - virtual microscopy is in.
Jack Caughey single handedly chose students for his medical school. Few people in the history of the world have demonstrated better taste for excellence. Click his image for a biography.
John L. Caughey, Jr., M.D.
May 30, 1904 - Sep 4, 2001
A New Way to Learn
What was different about the "new" curriculum? Paraphrased, "We can't teach you all you need to know to ply a trade but we can teach you how to teach yourself." We learned that the only prerequisite for learning is a genuine need to know. For that lesson, we are grateful to our teachers and mentors.
In this 1995 photo, Dr. Caughey is flanked by alumnus Alfred G. Gilman, M.D., Ph.D., Class of 1969, and medical school Dean Emeritus and University Professor Emeritus Frederick C. Robbins, M.D. Dr. Gilman, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, is one of the many distinguished graduates Dr. Caughey had admitted to the medical school. Dr. Robbins was dean from 1966 to 1980, and Dr. Caughey served as the admissions committee prior to and during those years, until he retired in 1974.
Dr. Robbins is also a Nobel Prize winner. In 1954, along with John Enders and Thomas Weller, he shared the prize "for their discovery of the ability of poliomyelitis viruses to grow in cultures of various types of tissue." Read about it here. 1954 was the same year Ernest Hemmingway and Linus Pauling received their awards.
Another prize winner was Dr. Earl W. Sutherland, Jr., Professor of Pharmacology at WRU, 1953-63. In 1971 he received the prize "for his discoveries concerning the mechanisms of the action of hormones." Follow this link for details.
Dr. Ferid Murad, obtained his M.D., Ph.D. degree at CWRU, 1958-65. He received 1/3 of the Nobel Prize in 1998 along with Drs. Robert F. Furchgott and Louis J. Ignarro "for their discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signalling molecule in the cardiovascular system." Details are here.
Paul Berg, Ph.D., received his degree from WRU in 1952. He received 1/2 of the Nobel Prize in 1980 "for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA". Here is the link.
Dr. Caughey, T. Hale Ham, M.D., and Joseph T. Wearn, M.D., were three of the masterminds in the development of the revolutionary curriculum instituted at the medical school in 1952. They each received the Abraham Flexner Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges, the organization’s most prestigious award, which “honors individuals whose impact on medical education is national in scope.”
By the time we entered medical school in 1956, the "new" curriculum was already four years old and we reaped the benefits of a four-year shake down. What a wonderful environment for learning! Don't you remember how many outside observers monitored our classes? We got a lot of attention and surely felt the contrast between the competitive college environment and this new way to learn.
The Mother Lode of Betterness
When Tony Greco was president of the alumni association, during one reunion he tried to summarize his feelings for the school by telling a personal story about his mother, Filomena. From a small hill town east of Rome, she was sent to a convent in Rome for her education. There, the nuns taught her Dante's Italian and other suitable subjects. Tony said that for over eighteen years of his life he felt that the nuns had stuffed her head full of the entire set of Wisdom Books from the Hebrew Scriptures because she constantly pulled out pithy sayings and aphorisms.
One that especially annoyed him was, "Mettiti sempre con quegli che sono meglio di te." Roughly translated, it says, "Always put yourself in the company of folks who are better than you." He recalled that after his first day at the WRU School of Medicine he knew he had found the mother lode of betterness. Finally, his mother could be happy.
We Want to Hear From You
All the members of this class have been blessed with outstanding intellect and talent. You all have wonderful stories to tell and we need to hear them. Even if you can't return for our 50th reunion, send us a few words. In the e-mail link above, the subject line is already filled in. Also, if you can't return, take a virtual tour using the Directions link above. Google scanned the streets of Cleveland. You can move up and down streets from a ground perspective. Try it out. After Google loads the page, you will see an address balloon.
From within the balloon, click Street View.
This illustration of Dr. Caughey’s profile (above) appears at the entrance to the John L. Caughey, M.D., Center for the Integration of Science and Medical Care at the CWRU School of Medicine and serves as a constant reminder of his lasting contributions to medical education. Click the image for comments from students and friends. From our class, William Lasersohn posted a beautiful statement.
