Interview with Leroy E. Burney, April 27, 1984

Interview Summary

Temple University Medical Center history; Burney Family history; Burney's educational background - M.D. Indiana University 1930-- public health training Johns Hopkins University 1931-32; Dr. A.J. McLaughlin's influence on his career while in Chicago; Burney's introduction to public health; studying under Dr. Wade Hampton Frost-- Dr. E.V. McCollum-- Dr. William Howe-- Dr. Lowell Reed-- Dr. Raymond Pearl-- and Dr. Roscoe Hyde at Johns Hopkins; meeting Dr. Ernest Stebbins in Charlottesville-- North Carolina; taking and passing the Public Health Service examination in Washington-- D.C.; Burney's being loaned by Surgeon General Dr. Thomas Parran to be State Health Commissioner of Indiana in 1945 for nine years; recruitment by Temple University President Dr. Millard Gladfelter in 1960 to establish a Health Sciences Center; Dr. William Parkinson as dean of the Temple Medical School; the Medical School's early isolation from the rest of Temple University and how that changed over time; Burney's service as Surgeon General during the Eisenhower administration-- and as chair of the World Health Organization; recruitment by the University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University; reasons Burney accepted the position at Temple University; molding the Schools of Dentistry-- Pharmacy-- and the hospital into a more cohesive unit at Temple; the lack of physical plant planning at Temple; David Segal's involvement in the institution of a personnel system for the hospital; David Willis' involvement in planning the physical plant; Temple University's location in Philadelphia and social unrest and community outreach in the 1960s; financial problems encountered caring for the indigent; establishing a College of Allied Health Professions; impact of Temple's incorporation into Pennsylvania's state higher education system; problems Burney encountered with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and City Council; Temple's competition with Pennsylvania University for recognition; beneficial federal programs that helped the community but were discontinued; establishing the North Philadelphia Regional Health Affiliates; the recruitment of Frank Crusen and establishing a physical medicine rehabilitation department at Temple; instituting degrees for health care administration and legal medicine at Temple; the lack of cooperation from the Departments of Anthropology and Sociology at Temple; the impact of Temple President Paul Anderson on the Health Sciences Center; Burney's acceptance of the presidency of the Milbank Fund; accomplishments of the Health Sciences Center; Temple's failure to get involved in the community in the 1960s; the impact of changing demographics in Philadelphia on Temple University; Frank Rizzo as Chief of Police and Temple's plan to cut back emergency and clinic health care; the reasons Burney feels he was not able to accomplish his mission at Temple; the recruitment of the first African-American faculty members at Temple-- Harold Haskins and Gordon Batts-- to the Health Sciences Center; qualifications Burney believes are needed to be a chief executive officer of an academic health center; Robert Bucher's contributions to the Health Sciences Center at Temple; a brief history of Temple University and its founder-- Russell Conwell.

Interview Keyword

Health Services Medicine Physicians

Interview LC Subject

Academic medical centers Burney, Leroy E. (Leroy Edgar), 1906-1998 Burney, Leroy E. (Leroy Edgar), 1906-1998--Interviews Temple University

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Interview Usage

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