Inside Duke Medicine
Williams chronicles the “Magic of Medicine at Duke”
posted October 5th, 2009
Collection of essays spans the School of Medicine's 80-year history.
R. Sanders “Sandy” Williams, M.D. ’74, HS’77-’80, former dean of the School of Medicine and currently senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, has published a collection of more than 50 essays from alumni and faculty in a book titled "The Magic of Medicine at Duke—A History in Our Own Words."
Spanning the School of Medicine’s 80-year history, the essays range from personal anecdotes about medical school to chronicles of department-building and discovery, as well as memories of faculty members.
Williams says he put out a broad call to alumni, faculty, and friends in 2008 and is pleased with the response he received.
The project was partly funded through a grant from the Frederic M. Hanes Memorial Trust. He hopes to publish subsequent volumes and invites more alumni and faculty to contribute.
"Something quite magical has happened in Durham over the past 80 years to create one of the great academic medical centers of the world,” writes Williams in the introduction. “It began in a most unlikely site, amidst pine forests and tobacco fields, far from any economic, cultural, or population centers, and within a world caught in the throes of the Great Depression. Even our harshest critics would be compelled to admit that something remarkable has happened here, against the odds.”
The books were printed on an authentic letterpress and are available at the Duke Medical Center Bookstore; they can also be ordered by phone (call 919-684-2717).
View the unabridged essays, photos, and information about how to submit an essay for a future edition online.