Medical School’s Humble Roots
THE NAME CHANGE IS LONG OVERDUE
The Argus Leader has a good editorial today on T. Denny Sanford's $20 million gift to the USD School of Medicine, which resulted in a name change to the Sanford School of Medicine. "We can't underestimate the importance of this, in a state strapped for cash and already known for underfunding education at all levels," goes the piece.
Sometimes, editorials in our chain-owned dailies lack historical perspective but the Argus nailed this issue. I was once in the State Appropriations Committee when former medical school dean Bob Talley made an unusual appearance. Let me set the stage here: usually, department and school officials come to the "powerful joint appropriations committee" hat in hand, thanking lawmakers profusely "for all you've done for us in the past" and begging for just a few more crumbs, "though we recognize how difficult it is for you honorable lawmakers in this difficult time in South Dakota."
Same speech no matter who appeared. But not Bob Talley. Maybe he'd heard it too many times before. Maybe he had just tried to balance the med school checkbook. Maybe he was tired of people taking pot shots at his efforts to raise private funds through the med school's own physicians' clinic. Who knows what led up to it. Anyway, from memory, the Lincolnesque doctor said something like this:
"I'd like to sit here and thank you guys for all you've done, but the truth is you haven't done very much for us. We call this a South Dakota school of medicine, but most of our funds come from the federal government and from student tuition and funds we raise and money our doctors earn and grants for work we do. You don't give us very much and to be honest we could probably operate about as well as we do now without any help from you."
It was the quietest "powerful joint appropriations committee" meeting I ever sat through.
Talley was right. We, the taxpayers of South Dakota, do not deserve to have the school called the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. We've taken the credit but we haven't paid the bills.
So congratulations to all the university staffers who have cobbled budgets together all these years -- especially the deans, Karl Wegner, Bob Talley and now Rod Parry. What a difference they've made these last 30 years in the quality and quantity of health care in South Dakota. I'm sure this doesn't end all their problems, but, hey, it's $20 million dollars!
So we join the Argus Leader in thanking T. Denny Sanford. He's a Sioux Falls banker who decided that helping to heal his fellow South Dakotans was a good place to put some of his money. I wonder why the "powerful joint appropriations committee" never quite saw things that way?
For somewhere under $20 million, we'd call this "Sanford's South Dakota Magazine"? We'd hire a few writers from National Geographic and we'd add about 50 pages an issue. We'd get a new storm door for the front of our 130-year old building. Maybe we'd even go monthly until the money ran out.
8 Comments
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Entirely well said.
Comment by mary — January 6, 2006 @ 8:53 am
To be honest, I remember when our state’s medical community included a lot of drunks and druggies and just plain dangerous practitioners who had little oversight and policing. The med school brought professisonalism to our health care and they never get any credit for that. We were in the dark ages in some communities in the 1970s before Dr. Karl Wegner took control.
Don’t get me wrong, we also had a lot of great doctors. Heroes and saints. But they weren’t policing their peers.
Comment by JK — January 6, 2006 @ 8:59 am
Excellent point here. I think you could also make the argument that one of the reasons for Sioux Falls’ boom these last 25 years is largely due to the medical community’s expansion. Politicians and others will take credit, but it was again the university’s push for better medical education that grew the health care community all across South Dakota.
Comment by Anonymous — January 6, 2006 @ 9:45 am
Liberal hogwash. You want the government to do it all. Why do we need medical school in South Dakota at all? There’s a huge surplus of doctors nationwide and small rural states like this don’t need to compete with the other universities for medical students or dollars. We are taxed enough in SD PLEAAASSSE!
Comment by Charlie Z. — January 6, 2006 @ 10:52 am
Come on, Charlie … why do we need a medical school?? How many young, and not so young, students do you wish to alienate from our state? Stats prove that once a student needs to leave the state for a college and beyond education, it’s damnably difficult to get them to return. You labeled us a small, rural state, what do you think will keep us from becoming a tiny or nonexistent state other than population with quality medical facilities FOR that same population? I can’t believe there are still people who can’t be thankful to others, especially when the goodness has been done to selflessly support an institution of higher learning WITHIN the state.
Comment by mary — January 6, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
Hear, hear! As a USD alumni I’m glad to hear it. I’d say one of the fears that I’ve always had about moving back someday would be the quality of medical care available.
Comment by L. J. — January 6, 2006 @ 11:57 pm
I wish they’d called it the Wegner School of Medicine. Karl Wegner is the George Washington of health care in South Dakota. Nothing against Mr. Sanford.
Comment by G. Jones — January 7, 2006 @ 4:21 pm
I disagree with the name change. The school was started in 1907, and has received long time support from the taxpayers. Now many years later along comes T Denny Sanford. He must be applauded for his generosity, but there are strings attached. The millions given are mere pocket change to him, to say nothing of the deductions he will receive. In the Oct 19, 2004, Minnesota Daily, Sanford, a U of M graduate, said he was not going to contribute the 35 million he originally announced. towards a new stadium. “he’s moved on, he said. “I’ve gone off into supporting children’s causes’. “We tried our best to encourage Sanford’s gift within the parameters that were acceptable to the president and the Board of Regents. Sanford wanted permanent naming rights, a condition the University did not accept”. Our Medical School belongs to the people, and should remain The University of South Dakota School of Medicine.
Comment by Belatti — January 9, 2006 @ 10:14 am