General file, 1979 October

File — Container: 2, Folder: 4

Scope and Contents note

From the Series: William F. Chaveas (1922-) was Executive Director at the College of Physicians from 1975 to 1985.

The “William F. Chaveas” series dates from 1951 to 1985, with the bulk of the records dating from 1978 to 1985. The subseries within this record group are: “Administration,” “Facilities,” “Financial,” “Historical Medical Library,” “Governance,” “Programs and Special Events,” “Outside Organizations,” “Correspondence,” and “Subject Files.”

The “Administration” subseries dates from 1979 to 1980. A significant portion of the "Administration" subseries is composed of general files, which contain memoranda, correspondence, agendas, minutes, reports and other records. The records are organized chronologically by month.

The second subseries, “Facilities,” contains a large amount of information regarding building and development plans and renovations for the College. There are also records on computer upgrades within the College. The “Facilities” subseries dates from 1977 to 1985 and is organized chronologically by year.

Next is the “Financial” subseries which dates from 1978 to 1985 and is arranged chronologically by year. The records concern accounts, asset reports, operating reports, as well as fund revenues and expenditures. The “Historical Medical Library” subseries dates from 1978 to 1984 and is organized chronologically by year. It contains numerous grant proposals for the Library that fulfill a variety of needs, including reorganizing journals, repairing water-damaged materials, and enhancing the catalog.

The “Governance” subseries is large and includes records about the Board of Advisors, the Committee on Budget and Finance, Council meeting information, the Committee on Fellowship, the Fellow’s Room Committee, the Committee for Funding, the Committee on the Institute for the History of Medicine, the Committee on Library, the Committee on the Mütter Museum, the Nominating Committee, the Committee on Planning and Development, the Committee on Public Health and Preventative Medicine, the Committee on Scientific Affairs, and the Women’s Committee. The records are arranged as they are listed above, and are arranged chronologically within the individual committee groupings. Records in “Governance” mostly include correspondence, minutes, agenda, memoranda, meeting files, attendance sheets and reports. The records date from 1958 to 1985, with the bulk of the records dating from 1978 to 1985.

Of note in the “Governance” subseries is the extensive documentation on the Committee on Public Health and Preventative Medicine as well as the Committee on Public Health and Preventative Medicine’s Hypertension Symposium. Many of the committees in the Chaveas’ “Governance” subseries appear to have been disbanded or changed after 1985, including the Committee on Library, the Committee on the Mütter Museum, Committee on the Institute for the History of Medicine, and the Fellow’s Room Committee.

The “Outside Organization” subseries consists of information regarding programs and institutions outside the College of Physicians. These files contain correspondence, invitations to events, annual reports, ephemera, and information about specific institutions. The organizations included in the “Outside Organization” subseries include the Greater Philadelphia Organization for Clinical Trials, the Philadelphia Association for Clinical Trials, and National Library of Medicine. The records date from 1978 to the 1980s. This is a particularly small subseries, consisting of only three folders.

The next subseries, “Correspondence,” is the largest in this series. Researchers should note that correspondence was kept in its original order, and as a result, it is arranged in a number of ways. There are three general groups of correspondence which overlap significantly in date. The first group of correspondence files is organized chronologically by month from 1980 to 1982. The next group, which dates from 1980 to 1986, is arranged alphabetically. At the end of the subseries, correspondence is arranged by subject.

The “Programs and Special Events” subseries contains a large amount of information on the College’s Continuing Education Program, which include topics such as coronary heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias and consumer attitudes regarding physicians. The records date from 1968 to 1986 and are arranged alphabetically.

Finally, the “Subject File” subseries encompasses all records that do not readily situate themselves into one of the established subseries. Of interest is the College’s award artwork drawn by Morris M’Cool, which consists of illustrated examples of awards that the College gives to fellows. The series also contains information on T. Grier Miller, founder and first chief of the Gastroenterology section at the University of Pennsylvania; acquisition information on The Dermatology Collection; and acquisition information about Philadelphia General Hospital.