Chapter History The first step towards the creation of the Alpha Chapter of AOA in South Carolina was taken in 1950, when a group headed by Dr. Kenneth Lynch, then President of the Medical College of South Carolina, wrote to AOA requesting the creation of the local chapter. The impulse behind the creation of our chapter was provided by a group of faculty members who were elected to AOA from their respective medical schools: Kenneth M. Lynch, President and Professor of Pathology, University of Texas, 1910; Vince Moseley, Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, 1936; Frederick W. Kinard, Associate Professor of Physiology, University of Tennessee, 1945; Kelly T. McKee, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia, 1941; Henry W. Mayo, Jr., Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Virginia, 1940; and John C. Hawk, Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Virginia, 1942. The rank listed is associated with those faculty members in 1953, and many went on to hold high leadership roles at the Medical University and around the country. An early group of members was elected in 1952 and the chapter was formally installed in March 20, 1953. The installation exercises were held at the Fort Sumter hotel, near the White Point gardens (currently is a condominium building). The President of the Medical College of South Carolina at that time, Kenneth M. Lynch, M.D., LL.D., presided over the ceremony. John T. Cuttino, M.D., Dean of the Medical School, accepted the charter from Walter L. Bierring, M.D., National President of Alpha Omega Alpha. Josiah J. Moore, M.D., National Secretary of AOA, presented the first set of keys and certificates to the newly elected initiates, and read the charge to the chapter. Major General George E. Armstrong, M.D., Surgeon General of the Department of the Army, Washington, DC, presented the installation address. Dr. Armstrong spoke on the developments in military medicine in the Korean front. In the Installation meeting the following charter members were recognized: Faculty
Alumni, Class of 1952
Students, Class of 1953
Student initiates elected as regular members that year were:
The record shows that Dr. Vince Moseley was the first councilor of our chapter from 1953 to 1954. Dr. Moseley was succeeded Dr. Henry W. Mayo (1955-56), Dr. Kelly McKee (1957-58). Dr. John T. Cuttino and Dr. Harold S. Pettit shared the position in the years 1959 to 1961 and were succeeded by Dr. Harold R. Pratt-Thomas (1962), Dr. William M. McCord (1963), Dr. Harold Pettit (1964-65), Dr. Kelly McKee (1965-70), Dr. Peter C. Gazes (1971-73), and Dr. B. Lewis Barnett (1974-76). When Dr. Barnett stepped down as councilor in 1977, Dr. Biemann Othersen took the lead, and was councilor for approximately 14 years. To date, there have only been three official councilors. The present councilor, Gabriel T. Virella, M.D., Ph.D. was elected Councilor in 1993. It is reported that the AOA chapter of today is much different from the chapter as it was in it's first few decades. Originally, it was basically run by the faculty members, and met only once per year for the annual banquet. The banquet at that time was a very formal affair. According to Dr. Othersen, in the "Old Days" the chapter was a social organization that met once per year holding the banquet to induct the newly elected members. "It was a drinking, rowdy affair." Dr. Curry tried to organize things and create momentum among the members, but to not much avail. When Dr. Othersen took office, he tried to encourage the students to run the organization; gradually moving it towards its present day activities. In the past few years the chapter has become involved in numerous community projects, including support to one of the Outreach missions in the low country area. AOA members have collaborated with the Outreach mission in Health Screening clinics, toy collections, and children's parties for underprivileged children. The chapter has provided the mission with funds necessary for the purchase of office and dental equipment. With the help of the medical students, the chapter has developed a scholarship named for two of its recently graduated members who met with an untimely death. A ten mile-ten man relay race held each spring facilitates the funding of this scholarship, as well as donations received from some of the faculty members associated with AOA. The chapter obtained national recognition in 1998, when it received a second place award in the competition for Chapter of the Year sponsored by the parent organization. Also in 1998, the current Councilor, Dr. Virella, was named Region 5 Councilor. AOA's Region 5 includes MUSC, Eastern Tennessee State University College of Medicine, University of South Carolina College of Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, and Emory University School of Medicine. In 1999 Dr. Virella was elected to AOA's Board of Directors. In the past, the chapter elected its members strictly on the basis of grade point average and rank in class. Today, many more considerations go into the selection of members, such as community service/volunteerism and outside activities by the students that benefit the College of Medicine, the University and the community as a whole. It is noted that at the beginning of the chapter's one single woman was elected - Fairey Gwendolyn Stone. Today, one-third of the student members are female. One major development in the history of our Chapter was a significant monetary bequest from Dr. Thomas Antley Pitts, M.D. Dr. Pitts had a long association with the Medical College of South Carolina. He served on the Board for 36 years, and was Chairman of the Board for 25 years. Dr. Oliver Williamson, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, played a significant role in obtaining the AOA bequest. At an AOA meeting presided by Drs. Othersen, Roof and Williamson it was decided to apply the bequeathed funds to a Visiting Professorship program, whose aim was to "bring in the luminaries of medicine" to our Medical University. The bequest has continued to be applied to support Visiting Professors up to the present. Currently, the AOA Chapter sponsors two Visiting Professors annually, one in the Spring and one in the Fall. In 1999 the chapter decided to honor Dr. Pitts memory by presenting for the first time the Thomas Antley Pitts AOA Award. The award is a certificate for $200 towards medical books and is presented to the two top ranking freshmen at the end of the Spring semester, of the prior year. As the chapter approaches its 50th Anniversary, preparations are being made to celebrate the event. A committee, chaired by Dr. Biemann Othersen, has been formed to develop and coordinate special activities for the celebration. The remaining members of that committee are: Drs. Peter Gazes, André Hebra, John Manos, Kelly McKee, Henry Rittenberg, Steven Schabel, William Southgate, and Oliver Williamson. Many thanks to H. Biemann Othersen, Jr., M.D. for his recollection of the early days of our chapter, and for his many contributions to the organization over the years. A special thank you is extended to Kelly T. McKee, M.D., Professor of Medicine, for the donation of his original copy of the program from the first installation, to Dr. Henry Rittenberg for his diligence in obtaining copies of original records kept in the central office of AOA, to Debbie Lancaster, from central office, for looking up the names of all our Councillors, and to Dr. Walton Ector for keeping us all straight. |
