System Implementation Group (SIG), 1993

File — Container: 10, Folder: 34

Series Description

From the Series: The "University Pennsylvania Administration" series is the largest in the collection. The records in this series date from 1981 to 2007, with the main focus being Dr. Asbury's terms as Vice Dean of Research, 1990-1993, and Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs, 1993-1997. Materials in this series are arranged into subseries according to the major administrative units with which Dr. Asbury worked: the School of Medicine and its basic science and clinical departments and interdisciplinary centers and institutes; the Medical Center; the University; affiliated hospitals; and outside institutions. Files in this series typically include incoming and outgoing correspondence and memoranda, committee minutes and agendas, draft and final reports and policy documents, and publications. The arrangement of the University of Pennsylvania Administration series largely follows the filing system used by Dr. Asbury's staff. Because a number of the topics documented here span more than one of these administrative units, researchers are advised to consult the box and folder list to locate files that are relevant to their areas of interest.

The "School of Medicine Administration" subseries contains materials that reflect Dr. Asbury's wide ranging involvement with the administration and operations of the School of Medicine. Major topics in this subseries include: research projects and facilities; medical education programs; conflict of interest policies and cases; University/industry relations; program and facilities planning; laboratory animal care policies; and searches for administration and faculty positions. The "School of Medicine Administration" subseries also includes files related to the Office of the Vice Dean of Research and the Office of the Dean of Faculty Affairs, including correspondence to and from Assistant and Associate Deans, work plans, and notes of Dean's meetings. A number of committees on which Dr. Asbury served are documented in this subseries, including the Conflict of Interest Standing Committee; the Communications and Human Resources Support Task Force of the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP); the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Liaison Committee; and the PET Center Executive Committee. Other notable topics documented here include Biomedical Research Support Grants and the Small Instrumentation Program; the School of Medicine's biomedical research core facilities; the PET Center, of which Dr. Asbury served as interim director in 1990; and the University-Industry Linkage Program.

The next three subseries, "Basic Science Departments," "Clinical Departments," and "Centers and Institutes," contain alphabetical runs of files for departments of the School of Medicine and interdisciplinary research centers and institutes. Researchers should note that the names and administrative configurations of a number of departments, centers, and institutes have changed since the time period covered by this collection. Files typically include correspondence to and from department chairs, faculty members, and School of Medicine and Medical Center administrators; meeting agendas and minutes; reports and grant proposals; and occasional departmental publications. These records document program planning; faculty recruitment and searches; faculty relations; awards nominations; departmental reviews; departmental policies; space and facility planning; and grant projects. Of note are records about the formation of the Center for Bioethics and the recruitment of Arthur L. Caplan to be its head; the establishment of the Bioinformatics program in connection with the University's work on the Human Genome Project; and the establishment of the Institute of Medicine and Engineering and the recruitment of its founding director, Peter K. Davies.

The "Medical Center" subseries documents Dr. Asbury's work with the planning, administration, and management of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). Dr. Asbury served on a number of committees under the umbrella of the Medical Center, including the Affiliations Committee, the Medical Center Management Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Research and Development Committee, and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which produced a self-study in 1994. Major topics included in this series are strategic planning for the Medical Center, facility planning, medical education programs, research activities and policies, and industry relations. Of note is an extensive collection of correspondence with William N. Kelley, Executive Vice President of the Medical Center and Dean of the School of Medicine, under whose leadership the Medical Center was expanded into the University of Pennsylvania Health System in 1993. The letters, both incoming and outgoing, cover a very wide range of topics related to medical education and health services at the University, as well as faculty affairs and recruitment, interdisciplinary programs, and relationships with affiliate hospitals and industry. Other correspondents in this series include Gordon D. Williams, the Vice President of the Medical Center and Vice Dean of the School of Medicine, Administration; E. John Black, Vice President and Executive Director of Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania; Fred Burg, Vice Dean for Education at the Medical School; Cynthia Maurer-Sutton, Associate Executive Vice President of Venture and Industry Relations; and other administrators of the School of Medicine, the Medical Center, and the University.

Materials in the "University" subseries largely relate to research policies and procedures. Included are files of correspondence and memos from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and University Laboratory Animal Resources; correspondence with Anthony Merritt, Director of the University's Office of Research Administration and other administrators about financial, reporting, application, and conflict of interest protocols for sponsored research programs; and correspondence with Vice Provost for Research Barry Cooperman. This series also includes activity reports produced by the Office of Research Administration showing grants received by the School of Medicine's departments, centers, and institutes.

The "Affiliated Hospitals" subseries documents the relationships between the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and the School of Medicine with local hospitals with which they conducted joint projects or programs. The files contain correspondence with administrators of the affiliated hospitals; about these relationships among the University of Pennsylvania's administrators; memos and correspondence of liaison committees; drafts of institutional agreement documents; and some analyses of programs done in preparation for entering into affiliate relationships.

"Outside Institutions" is a small subseries, mainly consisting of files about foundation support of grant projects at the School of Medicine and the interdisciplinary centers and institutes, and information about National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding policies and procedures.