Page 3            July 1999 Hold tight: Here comes the wrecking ball Who were Jackson, Owre, Millard, and Lyon? Lurie thriving as advocate for country's health

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Hold tight:  Here comes the wrecking ball Expect noise, dust, and detours when the 2-month demolation of Owre, Millard, Lyon buildings begins Aug. 2

Beginning Aug. 2, the wrecking ball will begin to tear down this section of the AHC campus.  Demoliton will last about two months.  Photos by Richard G. Anderson

Demolition is expected to take two months, says AHC Facilities Director Lorie Wederstrom. In addition to the noise, there will be vibration that may affect research, dust, and detours—one lane of Washington Avenue will be closed.

Wederstrom wants the AHC community to be forewarned about the inconvenience and to know that there were no viable alternatives. The cost of tearing down the buildings on evenings and weekends was prohibitive, she said. Demolition was scheduled to begin in August because there are fewer people on campus.

Meanwhile, Jackson Hall will be ready for occupancy Aug. 1. Upgrades include a new roof, reconfiguration of office and research space, new electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems, and replacement of interior walls and windows. The building will house offices for the departments of pharmacology, physiology, neuroscience, biochemistry and genetics, cell and developmental biology, as well as physiology labs, shared classrooms, gross anatomy, and various research and teaching facilities.

On Dec. 31, 2001, the $70 million molecular and cellular biology building will open its doors. To see a sketch and diagrams of the new building, refer to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/ahcfm/.

Who were Jackson, Owre, Millard, and Lyon?

But the imminent demolition of three of them makes us wonder who they were, and what they did to get their names engraved over doorways. The U archives revealed the following:

Perry Millard (1848-1897) moved to Stillwater, Minnesota in 1872 after losing everything in the great Chicago fire. Often summoned to logging camps to treat injuries, he soon established a thriving practice. When he became president of the Minnesota Medical Association in 1882, he promoted creation of a medical school in the state. In 1887 the regents named him dean, and within three months he had appointed a faculty, established a three-year curriculum, and set admissions and graduation requirements and fees.

Elias Lyon (1867-1937), dean of the Medical School from 1913 until his retirement in 1936, was considered one of the chief engineers of the school and “a sincere, modest intellectual with a humorous expression and a kindly glance.” He was devoted to medical students, and promoted the application of research to clinical problems. He also helped advance education for nurses. Early in his career, Lyon was an instructor at Woods Hole Marine Biology Institute and served as biologist on a scientific expedition to Greenland.

Alfred Owre (1870-1935), School of Dentistry dean from 1905 to 1927, had degrees in both medicine and dentistry. His mission was to unify the two fields, believing that physical health and dental health were inseparable. Owre was noted for his research on tooth decay, and he was president of the Minnesota  Dental Association. A man of eclectic interests, he authored a book on diet called  “Prunes and Pancakes,” collected cloisonne artifacts, and was a tireless hiker. His obituary in the New York Times says that he had hiked the U.S. from coast to coast.

Born in What Cheer, Iowa, Clarence Jackson (1875-1947) became dean of the University of Missouri Medical School at the age of 34. In 1913 he gave up the job and took a pay cut to head anatomy at the University of Minnesota, where he became one of the school’s most popular teachers and administrators. A colleague wrote that he was “tall and handsome with a splendid physique,” and that “his voice inspired confidence.” He won many professional honors, and served as acting dean of the Graduate School twice before retiring in 1941.

Jackson and Millard halls were constructed in 1912, Owre in 1932, and the Lyon building in 1953. Although three will soon be gone, plans are in the works to carry their heritage into the future. Proposals include a history corridor in the MCB building, using architectural elements from the old buildings in the new building, and/or and incorporating design motifs from the JOML complex, Wederstrom says.

Lurie thriving as advocate for 'the health of a country'
On leave of absence in D.C., professor briefly returns to U to speak at Public Health graduation
 

Nicole Lurie has always considered herself a community doctor. In September of last year her community grew—by about 200 million people.
Currently on a leave of absence from the University as professor of medicine and public health, Lurie is the principal deputy assistant secretary for health in the Office of Public Health and Science in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

There, Lurie works directly with Surgeon General David Satcher, who “out of the blue” recruited her for the position last year. Together, they oversee the following offices under the Office of Public Health and Sciences: Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Emergency Preparedness, HIV/AIDS policy, International and Refugee Health, Minority Health, Women’s Health, Population Affairs, Research Integrity, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and Military Liaison, and Veterans Affairs.

On June 11, Lurie returned to the U to deliver the commencement address for the School of Public Health. Speaking to about 75 graduates, she urged them to learn by doing and to keep learning. She also listed the goals of her office, which are, “to move toward a balanced community health system, to eliminate ethnic and racial disparities in health, and as we live increasingly in a global community, to improve global health.”

To that end, Lurie is working with Satcher and others on the Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. The goal of the initiative is to “eliminate the disparities in six areas of health status experienced by racial and ethnic minority populations while continuing the progress we have made in improving the overall health of the American people” by 2010. These six areas are infant mortality, cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, and immunizations. Lurie said she’s pleased with the progress on reaching the goal.
In an interview, Lurie said the biggest difference between her new position and her position at the U “is clearly both the range of issues that I’m dealing with and the difference of opportunity. I can have an impact on a large population—the health of a country.”

And after nine months on the job, Lurie has become keenly aware of how political Washington can be.

“Given that [politics] is there, you have to deal with it,” she said. “If everybody agreed on what to do and how to do it, it would be done. The differences of opinion stand in your way.”

Despite all of the time devoted to her administrative responsibilities, Lurie still spends every Thursday morning practicing medicine in a clinic for those without health insurance.

“Never again will I take for granted the safety net in Minnesota,” she said of her D.C. experience. “I very much appreciate what a leader Minnesota has been in taking care of its underprivileged. I also appreciate the creativity and willingness to do things differently to solve social problems. I am proud to be from Minnesota, in that regard.”

And Lurie always keeps space open in her date book for her husband, Jesse Goodman, a professor of medicine at the U, and their three children.
“In the final analysis, my family comes first,” Lurie said. “I try to structure my day so that I can have quality time with them. When other things come up and they need me I have to make time to be with them and fortunately that’s been totally possible.”

Goodman currently is a senior advisor to the commissioner at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is also continuing to run his research lab in Minnesota.

Washington D.C. has at least one drawback from the U for the doctors. “This is the first time in our professional lives that we have not worked in the same building,” she said. “I miss that.”