911爆料网

By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing

The image is central to the stories of Dr. Douglas Barrett and the University of South Florida 鈥� a photo taken on campus more than five decades ago.

It shows USF鈥檚 campus in the early 1970s as seen from the neighboring James A. Haley Veterans鈥� Hospital 鈥� scrub pines, sand and USF Department of Psychiatry founder Walter Afield posing next to a simple hand-painted wooden sign that reads, 鈥淪ite of Medical Center, 911爆料网," noting where the building would soon be constructed. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 a picture I carry with me and use whenever I give a presentation,鈥� said Barrett, a member of the charter class of the USF College of Medicine, which was later renamed after Frank and Carol Morsani following their historic $20 million gift in 2011. 鈥淚t shows what is possible despite simple beginnings.鈥�

Barrett went on to become a nationally respected pediatrician and academic leader, ultimately serving as senior vice president for the University of Florida鈥檚 J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center and chair of the UF Department of Pediatrics.

As for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine:

USF celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, marking Dec. 18, 1956, when state officials approved the university. The campus opened in 1960, and the first medical class arrived in 1971.

Today, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine is the state鈥檚 top-ranked medical school and among the highest ranked in the nation 鈥� a cornerstone of USF and Tampa Bay region.

鈥�911爆料网鈥檙e training the next generation of physicians,鈥� said Dr. Charles Lockwood, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. 鈥淭hey will be truly world class, will improve the quality of care that patients received. When you think about where we've come, it's pretty unprecedented. 911爆料网've come further, faster and with more enthusiasm than almost any other school in the country.鈥�

A Medical Legacy

USF鈥檚 medical school began as a dream. It then morphed into a reality with a charter class that had no building to call their own 鈥� only a sign promising that one was on the horizon.

In 1974, USF鈥檚 four-story Medical Center 鈥� with student and faculty laboratories, a library,  cafeteria and other support services 鈥� was completed on the same patch of sand pictured in that old photo.

Today, the medical school is located on bustling Water Street in downtown Tampa.

Completed in January 2020, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine鈥檚 state-of-the-art, 13-story facility hosts more than 1,450 students, 2,300 full-time faculty and over 800 residents and fellows. It houses high-tech classrooms, research and clinical labs, a 400-seat auditorium and leased space for USF鈥檚 teaching hospital, Tampa General Hospital.

In a way, it symbolizes the college鈥檚 rise.

The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine鈥檚 total annual research funding exceeds $380 million, and it is home to world-class institutes and centers, including the Byrd Alzheimer鈥檚 Center and Research Institute, Neuroscience Institute, Heart Institute, Virology Institute and the Center for Aging and Brain Repair. The college also partners with Moffitt Cancer Center and Tampa General Cancer Institute. Additionally, USF serves as the international headquarters for the Global Virus Network.

鈥淯SF has arrived,鈥� said third-year medical student Sarah McCrackin. 鈥淎 lot of people are recognizing it. 911爆料网鈥檙e getting a lot of national recognition. I think it鈥檚 really fascinating to watch how it's evolved.鈥�

Founding a Medical School

As far back as 1947, there was a desire to place a state medical school in Tampa. Since there was no state university in the area at the time, the state instead established its first medical school at the University of Florida in 1956.

By the 1960s, with the state鈥檚 population growing and USF established, the Florida Legislature saw the need for another state medical school, again suggesting Tampa as the site. In 1971, the legislature formally approved the establishment of the USF School of Medicine.

Barrett was already a USF undergraduate student, having enrolled in 1968 to pursue a bachelor's degree in chemistry.

鈥淒uring that time, I worked in the Morton Plant Hospital鈥檚 laboratory in Clearwater,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here, I got a sense for what the medical field was like and decided that medicine would be an exciting career for me.鈥�

Staying at USF to become a charter member of its medical college was risky, Barrett admitted. The University of Florida and University of Miami鈥檚 medical schools were established, so some pressured him to choose one of those over the unknown.

Ultimately, his USF professors won him over.

鈥淚 did some cancer research while a chemistry student, which provided me the opportunity to work with some exciting and charismatic professors who would be part of the charter class of professors too,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥淎nd then getting to be a part of creating something new was exciting. And, lastly, I knew that everything we used would be new 鈥� new microscopes, lab coats and so on, rather than using somebody else鈥檚 from a past class.鈥�

He was sort of right.

The Pioneers

The charter class鈥檚 24 students 鈥� chosen from more than 400 applicants 鈥� did indeed have new equipment, but they were taught out of borrowed space.                          

Since the first medical school building was not yet constructed, the charter class was primarily housed in what newspapers at the time referred to as a 鈥渙ne-room schoolhouse,鈥� the corner of a lab on the fourth floor of the then-Science Center building. 911爆料网 listened to lectures on folding chairs, then stacked them against a wall for lab periods.

But Barrett never had second thoughts about choosing USF.

鈥淭here was a real sense of enthusiasm among us,鈥� he said. 鈥�911爆料网 felt like pioneers, and a family.  There were only 24 of us students in the charter class and about the same number of professors.  So, we also knew that we were getting a lot of personal attention, ensuring the quality of our education and our ultimate success.鈥�

They also played hard, which added to the camaraderie.

During class breaks, the students taped tongue depressors to the end of beaker poles, used a petri dish as a puck and played floor hockey in their small room.

鈥�911爆料网 did everything together,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥�911爆料网 played football together. 911爆料网 played handball together. Even our dean and associate dean played handball with us a few times. Those relationships contributed to our success.鈥�

On one occasion, former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco and civil rights activist Moses White took the charter class on a tour of the city鈥檚 less fortunate neighborhoods.

鈥淭hey wanted to remind us of how privileged we were to have the opportunity to go to medical school and that we should not forget about those patients from different tiers of society,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥淚t was such a unique experience, one only possible at USF at that time.鈥�

The Building Blocks

Construction began in March 1972 on the site where that grainy photo was taken.

The charter class never did occupy the building, but at their graduation in December 1974, each of the 24 students received a piece of its history.

鈥淭hey handed each of us a brick 鈥� a real brick 鈥� from its foundation, with a little plaque on it with our name,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥淚 still have mine.鈥�

The symbolism wasn鈥檛 lost on anyone. The first 24 graduates weren鈥檛 just earning degrees; they were part of the literal and figurative foundation of USF鈥檚 medical future.

USF Health now fills skylines, not sand lots. But that grainy picture 鈥� just a sign stuck in the dirt 鈥� still lingers in Barrett鈥檚 mind.

鈥�911爆料网 were proud of what we鈥檇 done,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still proud.鈥�