TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary
Biographical Note
Collection Summary
Index Terms
Administrative Information
Restrictions
Series Descriptions
Archives, 1894-1968
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Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program, History of Medicine Division
Processed by HMD Staff
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Dan Jenkins
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| Collection Number: | MS C 271 |
| Creator: | Alpha Omega Alpha |
| Title: | Alpha Omega Alpha Archives
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| Dates: | 1894-1968 |
| Quantity: | 22 MS boxes |
| Abstract: | Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society was founded in 1902 by W.W. Root. Material relates to the history, organization, membership, meetings and publications. A large portion of the collection pertain to the different chapters of the Society. |
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society was founded in 1902 by William Webster Root and five other medical students at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago. Root viewed the society as a protest against "a condition which associated the name medical student with rowdyism, boorishness, immorality, and low educational ideals." Of the approximately 25,000 medical students in the United States at the turn of the century, no more than 15 percent were college graduates. The only requirement in most schools was a high school diploma or its equivalent; the latter often meaning the ability to pay the fee. The schools themselves-there were about 150-were by and large of dubious quality. With a few exceptions, notably the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, founded in 1893, the medical school curriculum consisted of a series of lectures, sometimes supplemented by demonstrations at the bedside or in the laboratory, if such existed.
Root and his fellow medical students met to form a society that would foster honesty and formulate higher ideals of scholastic achievement. Chartered in 1903 by the state of Illinois, Alpha Omega Alpha's growth has paralleled the development of American medical education. Within a decade after the society was founded, chapters were established at seventeen medical schools. At present there are 124 active chapters in the United States and Canada.
Today, when students and established physicians alike reject easy platitudes, the tenets of the society are more relevant than ever. As framed by Root, they are a modern interpretation of the Hippocratic oath: "It is the duty of members to foster the scientific and philosophical features of the medical profession, to look beyond self to the welfare of the profession and of the public, to cultivate social mindedness, as well as individualistic attitude toward responsibilities, to show respect for colleagues, especially for elders and teachers, to foster research and in all ways to ennoble the profession of medicine and advance it in public opinion. It is equally a duty to avoid that which is unworthy, including the commercial spirit and all practices injurious to the welfare of patients, the public, or the profession."
Excerpted from Alpha Omega Alpha website.
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Correspondence, documents, records, photos and printed matter. Material relates to the history, organization, membership, meetings and publications. A large portion of the collection pertain to the different chapters of the Society.
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Restrictions
Restrictions
Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.
Copyright
Copyright to the collection was transferred to the public domain. Contact the Reference Staff for details regarding rights. For online customer service, please visit custserv@nlm.nih.gov.
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| These terms are indexed in the National Library of Medicine's on-line catalog LocatorPlus. Researchers wishing to find related materials should serach the catalog using these terms. |
| MeSH Subjects |
| | Societies |
| Personal Names |
| | Bierring, Walter Lawrence, 1868- |
| | Root, William Webster, 1867-1932 |
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Alpha Omega Alpha. Alpha Omega Alpha archives. 1894-1968. Located in: Modern Manuscripts Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.; MS C 271.
Acquired in 1973 as a gift from Mrs. G. Meredith Brill. Other additions have since been made to the collection.
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Archives, 1894-1968
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| Box |
| 1 | | Correspondence, 1894-1912 |
| 2 | | Correspondence, 1913 - April, 1923 |
| 3 | | Correspondence, May, 1923-1942 |
| | Correspondence, 1943-1967 |
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| 4 | | | 1943-1967 |
| 4 | | | Bierring, Walter L., 1922-1944 |
| 5 | | Bierring, Walter L., 1947-1961 |
| 6 | | Campbell, J.A., 1960-1968 |
| 6 | | Cannon, W.B.; Coplin, W.M., 1923-1927 |
| 6 | | Davison, W.C., 1957-1960 |
| 6 | | Glaser, Robert J.; The Motto, 1965-1969; 1966 |
| 6 | | Hall, W.S.; Hayden, A.A., 1922-1926 |
| 6 | | Heffron, John L., 1918-1924 |
| 6 | | Johnson, V., 1964-1966 |
| 6 | | Lyon, E.P., 1933-1935 |
| 6 | | Moore, Josiah, J., 1924-1937 |
| 7 | | Moore, J.J., 1938-1962 |
| 7 | | Opitz, R.B., 1936-1941 |
| 7 | | Riley, B.C., 1935 |
| 7 | | Roark, B.H., 1902-1928 |
| 7 | | Root, W.W., 1931-1933 |
| 7 | | Mrs. Root, 1940s |
| 7 | | Slottow, R.S., 1968 |
| 8 | | Activities, Student, 1928-1930 |
| 8 | | Alumni Elections, 1928-1930 |
| 8 | | Amendments to Articles of Incorporation and Revised Constitution and Bylaws, 1960 |
| 8 | | Applications for Charters, 1902-1968 |
| 8 | | Association of College Honor Societies, 1924-1969 |
| 8 | | Balfour Company, 1923-1932 |
| 9 | | Balfour Company, 1932-1962 |
| 9 | | Biennial Council (26th), Report of Secretary-Treasurer, 1954-1956 |
| 9 | | Biennial Council (27th), June, 1958 |
| 9 | | Biennial Meeting (28th), 1960 |
| 9 | | Biennial Council (Delegates), 1960 |
| 9 | | Cayuga Press., 1934-1937 |
| 9 | | Board of Directors, 1957-1968 |
| 9 | | Dallas Council, 1926 |
| 9 | | Directors, 1924-1937 |
| 9 | | Directors, Hayden and Lyon, 1928-1932 |
| 9 | | Directory, 1935-1937 |
| 9 | | Extension Committee, 1923-1932 |
| 9 | | First National Bank; Moore Corporation, 1924-1927; 1930 |
| 9 | | Historical Material Concerning Alpha Omega Alpha, 1962-1968 |
| 10 | | Honorary Nominations |
| 10 | | Mayo Clinic (Alumni chapter), 1924-1928 |
| 10 | | Minneapolis Council, June 14, 1928 |
| 10 | | Ovid Bell Press, 1957-1963 |
| 10 | | Re: Charter Revision, 1959 |
| 10 | | Report to Directors by Secretary-Treasurer, 1962-1968 |
| 10 | | Genera correspondence (Pharos), 1964 |
| 10 | | Pharos Comments |
| 11 | | The Pharos, 1957-1968 |
| 11 | | Portland Council, July 11, 1929 |
| 11 | | Queries re: salaries to honor society executives, 1924 |
| 11 | | E.A. Wright Company, 1924-1934 |
| 11 | | Chapter correspondence, 1938-1968 |
| 12 | | University of California, 1921-1933 |
| 12 | | Stanford University, 1924-1940s |
| 12 | | University of Colorado, 1923-1940s |
| 12 | | Yale University, 1921-1933 |
| 12 | | George Washington University, 1925-1927 |
| 12 | | University of Georgia, 1921-1940s |
| 12 | | University of Chicago, 1940s |
| 12 | | University of Illinois, 1921-1940s |
| 13 | | Northwestern University, 1921-1940s |
| 13 | | Rush Medical College, 1921-1940s |
| 13 | | Indiana University, 1921-1933 |
| 13 | | State University of Iowa, 1920-1940s |
| 14 | | University of Kansas, 1927-1940s |
| 14 | | University of Louisville, 1924-1940s |
| 14 | | American University of Beirut, 1958 |
| 14 | | Louisiana State University, 1940s |
| 14 | | Tulane University, 1921-1933 |
| 14 | | Johns Hopkins University, 1921-1933 |
| 14 | | Boston University, 1940s |
| 14 | | Harvard University, 1921-1933 |
| 15 | | Harvard University, 1940s |
| 15 | | Tufts Medical College, 1940s |
| 15 | | University of Michigan, 1921-1940s |
| 15 | | Wayne State University, 1940s |
| 15 | | University of Minnesota, 1921-1933 |
| 15 | | Washington University, 1921-1940s |
| 15 | | St. Louis University, 1923-1940s |
| 16 | | University of Nebraska, 1921-1940s |
| 16 | | Columbia University, 1921-1940s |
| 16 | | Cornell University, 1921-1933 |
| 16 | | Long Island College of Medicine, 1940s |
| 16 | | New York University, 1923-1940s |
| 16 | | University of Buffalo, 1923-1933 |
| 17 | | Syracuse University, 1921-1940s |
| 17 | | University of Rochester, 1929-1940s |
| 17 | | Duke University, 1931-1940s |
| 17 | | Ohio State University, 1924-1940s |
| 17 | | Western Reserve University, 1921-1940s |
| 17 | | University of Cincinnati, 1921-1933 |
| 17 | | University of Oklahoma, 1940s |
| 17 | | University of Toronto, 1921-1940s |
| 17 | | University of Western Ontario, 1940s |
| 17 | | University of Oregon, 1923-1940s |
| 18 | | Jefferson Medical College, 1921-1940s |
| 18 | | University of Pennsylvania, 1921-1940s |
| 18 | | University of Pittsburgh, 1921-1940s |
| 18 | | Temple University Medical School, 1940s |
| 18 | | McGill University, 1921-1929 |
| 19 | | McGill University, 1930-1940s |
| 19 | | University of Tennessee, 1940s |
| 19 | | Vanderbilt University, 1923-1940s |
| 19 | | Baylor University, 1926 |
| 19 | | University of Texas, 1921-1940s |
| 19 | | Medical College of Virginia, 1924-1940s |
| 19 | | University of Virginia, 1921-1933 |
| 19 | | Marquette University, 1940s |
| 19 | | University of Wisconsin, 1926-1940s |
| 20 | | History and constitution |
| 20 | | Clippings, photographs, constitution and bylaws, documents, programs, reports, reprints, printed matter, early meetings |
| 21 | | Financial records, guest books |
| 22 | | Card catalog of membership "until 1921-1923" |
| 22 | | Membership directories |
| 22 | | Secretary's handbook, 1903-1904 |
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