University of Wisconsin Medical School Celebrates 100 Year Anniversary with Exhibit

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health is celebrating their 100 year anniversary with the exhibit “Skeletons in the Attic, Life in the Atrium: 100 Years of Medical Education at UW-Madison.” The public is being invited to help celebrate the anniversary with a reception on November 29^th from 3:30-8pm.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health is nationally and internationally recognized as being one of the best educational institutions for physicians. Over its 100 years of existence, the School has had success and difficulties as it developed into the facility it is today.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health began with only eight students, learning basic science in a two-year program taught by faculty member who were borrowed from the College of Letters and Sciences.

The School currently offers several graduate programs that allow students to obtain degrees in a number of medical areas in order to attain the profession of their choosing. Graduate degrees are offered in Bimolecular Chemistry, Genetic Counseling, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Medical Genetics, History of Medicine, Microbiology, Oncology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Physiology, Public Health, Neuroscience, Medical Physics, and Preventive Medicine.

During its transition from a two-year medical program taught in an attic to a four-year program in its current facility and with partnerships with the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, the School has had its share of difficulties over the past century. Some of these difficulties have included both World War I and II, difficulties encountered while the construction of Wisconsin General Hospital took place, problems getting legislatures to support a two-year and later on, a four-year medical program, and turf wars.

The “Skeletons in the Attic, Life in the Atrium,” exhibit details the medical school’s journey from its beginning to the present. The exhibit includes documents, photos, and other memorabilia. The exhibit will be featured in the Historical Reading Room, on the third floor of the Ebling Library, as well as in the third-floor gallery.

Photos appearing in the exhibit will be rotated in order to show the most number of photos possible during the time of the exhibit, so visiting the exhibit more than once may be a good idea.

On November 29^th, the public is invited to the exhibit’s opening reception, which will take place from 3:30-8pm in the Historical Reading Room, located on the third floor of the Ebling Library. The exhibit will run from November 29,2007 through June 30, 2008.

The exhibit may be visited from Monday through Thursday from 7:30am to 11:45pm, Fridays from 7:30am to 5:45pm, Saturdays from 10am to 5:45pm, and Sundays from 10am to 11:45pm.

For more information regarding the “Skeletons in the Attic, Living in the Atrium: 100 Years of Medical Education at UW-Madison,” please contact Micaela Sullivan, the show curator by phone: 608-262-2402 or by e-mail: msullivan@library.wisc.edu.

Sources:

University of Wisconsin News: Exhibit Chronicles 100 Years of Medical Education at UW-Madison:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/releases/14116

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health: Graduate Programs:
http://www.med.wisc.edu/education/grad_programs/index.php

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health: About Us:
http://www.med.wisc.edu/about/index.php