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University Libraries Special Collections

A Guide to the Collection
in
UMDNJ Libraries -- Special Collections
Stanley S. Bergen, Jr., MD University Archives
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
Revised
February 1999

INTRODUCTION

The records of the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry (NJCMD) date from 1954 to 1975; there is also one videotape from 1995. The collection totals approximately 14 linear feet. They form Record Group B in the Bergen University Archives. The records are open for research without restrictions under the conditions of the Archives' access policy.

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry was established May 3, 1965 by an act of the New Jersey Legislature. The State of New Jersey agreed to purchase for $4 million and take over the privately operated Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry (SHCMD). A seven-member Board of Trustees was named by Governor Richard Hughes, with appointments terminating on July 1, 1970, prior to which time the organization of the College was to be reviewed. During its first few years of operation, NJCMD faced the loss of its accreditation. Fortunately, the efforts of Governor Hughes, Board Chairman George F. Smith, and then-president Robert R. Cadmus, MD., averted the threatened action. As time passed, major problems were resolved and the College was fully accredited.

In November 1966, a Public Hearing was held in Trenton concerning the location of a permanent site for the College, which was then located at the Jersey City Medical Center. In December 1966 the Trustees voted to relocate to the City of Newark, after rejecting a site in Madison. NJCMD applied for Federal funds for its permanent facilities, which had been under planning and architectural development since 1967. Prior to completing the relocation, the Newark Riots occurred in the summer of 1967. One reason for the Riots was the proposed location of the campus in Newark's Central Ward. The location would displace local residents, and their homes would fall prey to urban renewal. What resulted was quite extraordinary. A series of meetings held between local residents and community organizations, and state officials resulted in the formulation of the Newark Agreements. The Agreements outlined both the State's and College's responsibility to the community to provide, among other things, primary health care for Newark residents, and offer significant educational and employment opportunities to the local population.

On June 10, 1969, a $35 million construction award was announced in Washington. NJCMD had used the Newark City Hospital as a training facility for several departments during 1966 and 1967. The State purchased the hospital for one dollar from the City of Newark. On July 1, 1968, NJCMD assumed operation of Newark City Hospital and its Nursing School. The name was changed to Harrison S. Martland Medical Center, and it became the College's principal teaching facility.

Prefabricated interim facilities were constructed in June 1969. They were completed and occupied during the 1969-1970 academic year, while planning for permanent facilities continued. On May 4, 1970 the Medical and Dental Act of 1970 was introduced into the New Jersey Assembly. Subsequently, the Act established the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (CMDNJ), combining the NJCMD and the Rutgers Medical School into one administrative organization. Groundbreaking for a new permanent Newark campus on an additional 45.7 acre site occurred on July 6, 1971.

PROVENANCE

The records of the NJCMD were transferred to the University Archives from the Office of the President by Stanley S. Bergen, MD, in August 1979 and February 1980. More records were transferred from the Office of the President in December 1982 and from the Development Office in March 1983. Additional materials, including two videotapes and one typescript, were added to the collection in 1995.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The NJCMD records span the years 1954-1975, and 1995. The bulk of the material dates from 1965-1970.

The records hold the official papers of James E. McCormack, M. D. McCormack served as Dean of the SHCMD from 1960-1964. When Seton Hall was takenover by the State, Dr. McCormack served as both Dean of the College of Medicine and as President of the NJCMD. Robert R. Cadmus, MD was appointed President of the NJCMD following the resignation of Dr. McCormack in July of 1966. Dr. Cadmus served as President until April 1971. In July 1971 Stanley S. Bergen, Jr., MD became the first President of the CMDNJ.

The collection is divided into seven series:

SERIES I College Publications
SERIES II Board of Trustees Minutes of Meetings
SERIES III Office of the President
SERIES IV Newspaper Clippings
SERIES V Photographs
SERIES VI Site Hearings
SERIES VII Videotapes

For more information about NJCMD, please see the following Oral History Collection:
Cadmus, Robert, MD. President, NJCMD (1983)

SERIES DESCRIPTION

SERIES I. COLLEGE PUBLICATIONS, 1965-1970, Arranged alphabetically then chronologically, 6 linear inches.

This series consists of various in-house publications such as bulletins, programs, newsletters, and booklets. The series is arranged in alphabetical order, with the subseries contents being chronologically organized.

SERIES II. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, 1965-1970, Arranged chronologically, 1.7 linear feet.

This series contains the minutes of the meetings of the NJCMD Board of Trustees. It begins with their founding in early 1965 to June of 1970, when they were superseded by the Board appointed by Gov. William Cahill for the CMDNJ. Some of the issues covered in the series include the leasing of facilities at Jersey City Medical Center, the selection of a new location for the school, the negotiations with the City of Newark, the takeover of Newark City Hospital, staff appointments, and the change over to CMDNJ.

SERIES III. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, 1954-1975, Arranged by subseries, 11 linear feet.

This series consists of seven subseries and include the official papers of Dr. McCormack and Dr. Cadmus. The papers reflect a transitional period in the College's history and contain material on the State takeover of SHCMD, the termination of the affiliation with Jersey City Medical Center, the selection of a permanent site for the college, the acquisition and improvement of Newark City Hospital (Martland), the relocation of the college to a site in Newark and East Orange, and extensive material on the funding, planning, and construction of the Newark Campus.

The subseries contents are arranged in either alphabetical or chronological order, as determined by their provenance. They include the following document types: correspondence, reports, grant applications, legislative acts, legal documents, bulletins, architectural drawings and plans, and clippings.

The subseries are:

SUBSERIES A. Chronological Subject Files, 1954-1966.

SUBSERIES B. Alphabetical Subject Files, 1966-1971.

Original folder titles have been retained.

SUBSERIES C. Jersey City to Newark Relocation Files, 1961-1966.

The files contain correspondence and reports relating to the NJCMD's decision to terminate their affiliation agreement with the Jersey City Medical Center and to relocate the College's staff and facilities to the City of Newark. The original file arrangement and folder titles have been retained.

SUBSERIES D. Interim Facilities, Newark Construction Files, 1966-1969.

The files contain papers on the planning and construction of the Interim Buildings, 100 Bergen Street, Newark NJ. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject; the original folder titles have been retained.

SUBSERIES E. Permanent Facilities, Newark Construction Files, 1966-1975.

The files include papers on the planning and construction of the permanent buildings, The architects were Eggers, Grad and Seltzer representing a joint venture of the offices of Eggers and Higgins; Frank Grad and Sons; and Gilbert L. Seltzer. Construction began in 1971 with the building of the Power Plant followed by the Basic Sciences Building (now known as the Medical Sciences Building), the Dental School, the Library, the Community Mental Health Center and the Teaching Hospital. Researchers should note that some files contain papers of Dr. Stanley S. Bergen, Jr. since the construction of the permanent facilities was completed under Dr. Bergen's administration. In order to preserve the integrity of the files, these papers have not been removed. The folders that include Dr. Bergen's papers are marked with an asterisk. The original folder titles have been retained.

SUBSERIES F. Federal Construction Grant Applications, 1967-1972.

A substantial portion of the construction funding for the permanent Newark Campus was provided through grants from the Federal government. The files contain the original and revised grant applications submitted to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Correspondence and reports pertaining to the Federal grants are located in the Permanent Facilities, Newark Construction Files, box 10, folders 10 through 25. The files are arranged chronologically.

SUBSERIES G. Senior Staff Group, Minutes of Meetings, 1970-1971.

The Senior Staff Group was a select group of advisors organized by Dr. Cadmus in 1970 to increase the administrative and operating efficiency of the College. The group concentrated in matters of a college-wide nature such as program and physical planning; evaluation of procedures and policies; and the prompt communication of accurate information. During the transitional period of January through June 1971, the group functioned as an interim body to administer the College and Martland Hospital.

SERIES IV. NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, 1964-1967, Arranged alphabetically, 6 linear inches.

This series is composed of clippings from 14 area newspapers. Both photocopies and some originals have been included in the folders. Folders are arranged in alphabetical order by name of newspaper, the clippings from each paper are arranged chronologically. The topics that are covered deal with the State takeover of SHCMD, the controversy surrounding the Jersey City Medical Center, the NJCMD, and the site location of the school.

SERIES V. PHOTOGRAPHS, circa 1965-1969, Arranged chronologically, 6 linear inches.

The series contains photographs from folders in other series. Unfortunately the provenance was lost and the actual folders of origin are not known. Most of the photographs deal with the construction of the Newark Facilities from the planning stages to the construction of the Interim Facilities.

SERIES VI. SITE HEARINGS, 1968, Arranged chronologically.

This series contains two copies of transcripts of the six public hearings and the Agreements reached between community and government negotiators on the location of the NJCMD campus in Newark. The hearings were held on February 13, 17, 19, 21, 26, and March 1, 1968. The Agreements resulting from these hearings were issued on April 30, 1968. The agreements include 1) Acreage, 2) Health Services, Employment and Services, 3)Relocation of displaced residents, 4) Construction, 5) Model Cities, 6) Housing Construction, plus the Newark Community Health Council, Inc., proposed Bylaws. Copy 1 of the Site Hearings are bound in two volumes, while copy 2 is loose leaf.

SERIES VII. VIDEOTAPES, 1969, 1995.

This series contains two videotapes. The first is entitled, "To Bridge This Gap," (1969) is a documentary film by Ken Burrows and Brian De Palma (Accession No. 95-15), produced by the NAACP. The film highlights their legal cases dealing with segregation and discrimination issues in the late 1950's and 1960's. Of particular interest is the segment on the lawsuit filed by the Legal Defense Fund on behalf of Newark community organizations when the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry moved to Newark's Central Ward.

The second videotape is "City of Promise," a segment of "America's War on Poverty" (Accession No. 95-84). This film was produced by Blackside Films, Boston, for PBS. It was broadcast on January 17, 1995, and contains information dealing with Newark and NJCMD, and the Newark Riots.

ADDENDUM

Accession No. 95-128

Barklis, Samuel S. The Kept People of Politics. Unpublished typescript, [np : np], 1971. 209 pp. [A History of the Creation of NJCMD from SHCMD by a former Board of Trustee member of NJCMD] 2nd copy in Vertical File 'UMDNJ-History.'

ADDENDUM

Sarah A. Hull; 4/99

Page Revised: 3/2/01

For reference service and information contact:

Robert Vietrogoski
Special Collections
vietrora@umdnj.edu
(973) 972-7830
FAX (973) 972-7474

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