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University Libraries Special Collections

FC/2

David F. Opdyke, Ph. D.
Papers, 1943-1979

A Guide to the Collection
in
University Libraries Special Collections
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
December 1982

Revised 2003

Table Of Contents

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

• Series Notes:
  • Series A: Correspondence 1943-1978
  • Series B: Memorandum 1970-1979
  • Series C: Reports 1967-1974
  • Series D: Speeches 1960-1979
  • Series E: New Jersey Medical School Documents 1954-1969
  • Series F: Publications 1963-1964
  • Series G: Award 1974
  • Series H: Media
    1. Newspaper Clippings
    2. Photographs
    3. Slides
  • Series I. Twenty-fifth Anniversary Material Collection

Biographical Sketch

David F. Opdyke was born in Montpelier, Ohio, in 1915. He attended Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio and received his B.S. degree in chemistry in 1937. For the next two years he was a graduate assistant in the Department of Zoology at Indiana University, working under Professor of Biology, Ira Wilson. His graduate study was in endocrinology. He was also working in the Original Research Division, Dept. of Fish and Game of the Indiana Conservation Commission. It was Dr. Ira Wilson who persuaded the young Opdyke to try another field of study, such as biology, so that he would have two areas of expertise. From 1939-1942, Dr. Opdyke was research associate of Dr. Oscar Riddle at Carnegie Institution of Washington, Cold Spring Harbor, and Long Island, New York.

In 1942 Dr. Opdyke received his Ph. D. degree from Indiana University, and during 1943, he served as Instructor in the Department of Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine. The following year he became an Instructor at Western Reserve, spending half time teaching and half time research on war problems.

Between 1947-1951, Dr. Opdyke worked in the Physiology Department under Dr. C. J. Wiggers, a cardiovascular physiologist. By the time he left Western Reserve in1952, he was an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the department. Later that year, he accepted the position as head of the Department of Physiology at the Merck Institute for Therapeutic Research in Rahway, NJ. He also accepted an appointment as Consultant Physiologist for the City of New York, Department of Hospitals.

He preferred teaching, however, and on February 1, 1956 he left Merck and became a professor and chairman of the Physiology Department of the new Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry. It was the first faculty appointment made by the new College. He accepted the position at Seton Hall because it was a new school and he hoped to be able to influence the curriculum, since he was always interested in curriculum revision.

His assignments included not only planning and recruiting for the Physiology Department, but for the College as a whole. From February to September 1956, he assisted in the preparation of the physical facilities in the Basic Sciences Building, planned the curriculum and recruited a staff for his department. At the same time, he also acted as Admission Officer and Assistant Dean in charge of Student Affairs.

In July 1961, Dr. Opdyke had a chance to use this extensive organizational experience. He was invited by the Indonesian medical community to reorganize the Department of Physiology in the Medical School in Surabaju, Indonesia. For approximately eighteen months, he worked on this project of modeling the Indonesia medical school curriculum after that in this country.

During the summers and during sabbaticals, Dr. Opdyke did radiation studies at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee Institute of Nuclear Studies, and work on hypertension and the shark's low blood pressure at the Biology Lab in Bar Harbor, Maine.

In 1979, he resigned his post as chairman of the Physiology Department and in 1981 Dr. Opdyke retired from the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, after being with the College through twenty-five years of change.

For recreation, he participated in the Explorers Club in New York City, was a member of the Westfield Barber Shop Quartet, and enjoyed photography and wood carving.

Scope and Content Notes

The David F. Opdyke Papers spans the years from 1943-1979 and consists of nine series. The collection occupies one linear foot.

Dr. Opdyke donated the collection upon his retirement from the College of Medicine and Dentistry in December 1981. The collection includes correspondence, memorandum, reports, documents from the period of the Seton Hall School of Medicine, speeches, publications, and photographs and slides.

The collection is very issue oriented, and shows the changes and growth of the College throughout its history. Dr. Opdyke started as a chairman of a department and served as Admission Officer right from the beginning of the Seton Hall School of Medicine. He became involved and continued to be involved in the current issues of the day, such as, academic standards, open policy for minority students, and curriculum changes. He was especially interested in curriculum change, and in 1967, he wrote a Curriculum Proposal for the entire medical school (FC/2-C). The Proposal was never accepted.

The collection also includes a series of 108 slides (FC/2-H-3) taken by Dr. Opdyke of the Seton Hall College of Medicine, New Jersey College of Medicine, and the Jersey City Medical Center. They include slides of the buildings, labs, faculty and staff, students, and graduation exercises, and create a visual history of the early days and beginning of the present University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

An Oral History interview of Dr. Opdyke was completed in 1982 and the transcript is in Special Collections.

Series Description

Series A: Correspondence, 1943-1978 1970-1976

FC/2-A

Contains both personal and professional correspondence from 1943-1978 with the bulk of the material covering 1970-1976. The material is arranged in chronological order and covers Dr. Opdyke's early career through 1978.

Series B: Memorandum, 1970-1979 1974-1976

FC/2-B

Contains memorandum from 1970-1979. The documents are arranged in chronological order. The majority of the material deals with student power issues, affirmative action and academic standards, the John Brown affair, and the boycott of the dedication ceremonies of the Newark campus.

Series C: Reports, 1967-1974

FC/2-C

1. Curriculum Proposal for Medical School, 1967 (prepared by Dr. Opdyke)
2. Department Reports and Documents, 1956-1971

Contains various reports, memorandum, and other documents covering the working and running of the Physiology Department form 1956-1971. The material is arranged in chronological order.

3. The Kahn Salary Controversy Papers, 1967, 1971-1974

Contains documents, memorandum and statements from Dr. Opdyke's personal file on the salary controversy surrounding Dr. Kahn.

Series D: Speeches 1960-1962 1976-1979

FC/2-D

Contains speeches made on campus and off from 1976 to 1979. These include speeches to students, medical societies, faculty meetings and a sermon. They are arranged in chronological order.

Series E: New Jersey Medical School Documents, 1954-1969

FC/2-E

Contains copies of documents form 1954 to 1969 on the founding and early years of the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry in Jersey City. The documents include the Agreement of Lease, 1954; the Affiliation Agreement, 1963; Special Report to the President of Seton Hall University; and a statement by George F. Smith, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, 1969, on the added costs of taking over Martland Hospital.

Series F: Publications, 1963-1964

FC/2-F

1. By-laws of the Jersey City Medical Center Medical-Dental staff, 1963
2. Report of the Seton Hall Fact Finding Committee, 1964
3. Reprint from the March issue of the Alumni Bulletin, School of Medicine and Affiliated Hospitals, Western Reserve University, n.d.

Series G: Award 1974

FC/2-G

Award granted to Dr. Opdyke in 1974, making him an honorary member of Omicron Kappa Epsilon (Dental Honorary Society), Omega Omega Chapter.

Series H: Media

FC/2-H

1. Newspaper Clippings from three newspapers: The Daily Journal (Elizabeth, NJ) Jan. 31, 1973 on Dr. Opdyke's career; the Boston Sunday Globe, May 16, 1976 on the Harvard Medical School and minorities; and the Evening News (Newark, NJ) not dated, on the end of the New Jersey College Medicine and Dentistry boycott.
2. Photographs: Contains a photograph of Dr. Opdyke as a member of the high school class of 1993 taken at a class reunion, n.d.; negatives of Admission Committee members, probably from Seton Hall College of Medicine; and photographs taken of Dr. Opdyke as a faculty member for the new Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry Year Book, n.d.
3. Slides: Contains two sets of slides taken by Dr. Opdyke. The first set consists of 38 slides taken in 1960 of seven different college campuses. The second set of slides consists of 108 slides taken of the Seton Hall College of Medicine and the Jersey City Medical Center in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They are categorized here into twelve sub-division listed alphabetically for the benefit of the researcher. The slides are numbered and filed sequentially from 1-108 with the subject of the slides in no particular order.

Series I: Twenty-fifth Anniversary Material Collection

FC/2-I

The Committee of the Executive Council requested Dr. Opdyke to assemble some nostalgia and reminiscences of the early days of Seton Hall College of Medicine in commemoration of its 25^th anniversary, as parent institution of the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. Opdyke asked all the faculty members who were on the roster prior to 1970 and still on the faculty to contribute. In addition, he asked selected former students and faculty members. Joseph Boyle III, member of the charter class of 1960; John Bullock, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Physiology; Robert Nenno, MD, first chairman of the Department of Psychiatry; Carroll M. Leevy, MD, Department of Medicine; David F. Opdyke, first faculty member hired; Francis P. Chinard, MD, former chairman of the Department of Medicine, now professor of Experimental Medicine, to contribute material for this collection. The material was never published or used in the anniversary celebration.

[Editor's note: 25^th Anniversary Material Collection (Box 1, Fl. 17) was missing from the collection as of 5/31/95.]

For reference service and information contact:

Robert Vietrogoski
Special Collections
vietrora@umdnj.edu
(973) 972-7830
FAX (973) 972-7474