Med School Will Recruit Negroes

The Medical School Faculty accepted a resolution yesterday to recruit black students for the Medical and Dental Schools.

In a two-hour meeting, the Faculty called for a "substantial increase (in) the number of Negro medical students and dental students at Harvard University."

The final resolution called for the recruitment of black students interested in medical careers and "intellectually capable of succeeding at the Harvard Medical School."

The resolution also provides for scholarships for the full living expenses of black medical students awarded according to need. The scholarships will probably be named in honor of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

A Faculty committee, to be appointed by Robert H. Ebert, dean of the Faculty of Medicine, will establish the scholarships.

Six black students are currently enrolled in the Medical School. Faculty members hope that the new recruitment will bring 15 blacks--slightly over ten per cent of the class--to the School each year. There are presently two scholarships specifically for black students.

Modified Version

The resolution was a modified version of a four-point proposal drafted by nine professors on the Med School Faculty.

The two points not discussed yesterday are that:

* a special program for two summers and one full academic year at Harvard College to compensate for "deficiencies" in students' preparation,

* student and faculty advisors for each student from Harvard College and the Medical School.

The Med School proposal follows similar announcements from the School of Education, which is completing a recruiting drive, and the Law School, which will offer a summer program for forty black students.

Sponsors of the proposal wrote that "most Negroes are now caught up in a vicious cycle. In the case of education they are condemned to inadequate grammar and secondary schools. As a result, they do not attend the better colleges in sufficient numbers and are under-represented in graduate schools. This situation means that there is a continuing luck of black professionals, lawyers, doctors..."

Roxbury Programs

Members of the Faculty also suggested that the Medical School set up health programs in Roxbury.

At a Faculty meeting scheduled for next month, students will present a petition calling for more organized co-operation with the black community.

The petition, which was posted last Wednesday, includes proposals for broader employment opportunities for black people at the Medical School and emergency medical facilities in the event of "civil disorder."