UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #271
MOSSMAN, HARLAND W.

MOSSMAN, Harland W. (1898-1991)
Graduate Student, Zoology; Professor of Anatomy
At UW: 1920-1968

Interviewed: September 1, 1983, September 2, 1983	
Series: Life Sciences
Interviewer: John W. Jenkins
Length: 3 hours, 41 minutes

Background and education; Reasons for coming to UW; Zoology Department in 1920s; Faculty; Opportunity to teach embryology; Equipment in Anatomy Department; Difficulty getting bodies; Graduate instruction; Journal Club; Comparison of anatomy and zoology seminars; Salary and promotion issues; Obtaining research funding; Importance of WARF; E. B. Hart's support; Temporary separation of anatomy from other basic sciences; Discrimination within Department; University Club; Botany Department; Dining clubs; Department library; Anatomy Department personalities; Medical School personalities; Medical library; Medical fraternities.

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:02	Background and education.  Reasons he came to the UW for graduate work.

00:12:37	Housing.

00:14:40	Courses he took.  Professors.

00:15:54	Birge.

00:16:05	Thesis work in embryology turned over to assistant professor Elizabeth Smith. Then to Professor Guyer. Working with Guyer. 

00:18:20	Course work. Professors, Eyster, Meek. No relationship with Birge, did not come to seminars.

Tape 1/Side 2

00:33:28	His thesis on rabbit placenta. No faculty expert in field of placentology.

00:35:34	Work at Carnegie Institution. Published Comparative Fetal Membranes.

00:37:28	Hired at UW for a year. Offered a permanent position.

00:39:58	Anatomy department in the 1920s.  Bardeen.  Equipment.

00:47:06	Facilities in anatomy lab.  Getting bodies.

00:50:18	Other people in the department.  HM's dissection demonstrations.  The Journal Club, seminars and the zoology seminar.

00:57:15	Teaching styles in anatomy.  Didn't always give enough recent material (Geist).  Students from medicine, zoology, women's physical education.

01:02:29	Question on governance before 1930s.  Sullivan's chairmanship, made all decisions.  Issue of HM's promotion to tenure.

Tape 2/Side 1

01:03:36	Chairmen were appointed then.

01:08:25	Little research department before Depression.  Good teaching.

01:10:55	No animal quarters or caretakers.  Little money for slides, etc.  Importance of WARF in Depression.  HM's funds.

01:14:05	Hart's help.

01:14:40	Grady resolution; Rockefeller grant.  New building, anatomy left in Science Hall.

01:18:12	Socializing in department.

01:18:45	Question of women in department; the salary issue.

01:21:43	Attitudes to Jews in Medical School.

01:27:31	The basic science departments.  Their quality; people in them.

01:33:10	Most department members politically conservative.

01:34:23	Q. on University Club.  Social attitudes in Medical School.  The clinical faculty.  HM knew more people in Agriculture and zoology.
01:39:10	End of side.

Tape 2/Side 2

01:39:13	More on socializing in Medical School.

01:40:25	Collaboration in research.  Not much of it.  The Graduate Biological Division.  Its function.  The Biological Division.  The hiring of Huskins and Skoog.

01:46:00	Dining clubs.  Belonged to West End Club.

01:48:50	Dancing clubs, Cosmos Club.  Chaos Club.

01:50:50	Department library.

01:53:00	Importance of WARF.  Research leaves HM had at Carnegie and in Western Europe.

01:54:25	Doesn't know how many others in department went to Europe.

01:58:09	End of side.

Tape 3/Side 1

00:00:10	Degrees offered by anatomy department.  Curriculum of graduate students.  Policy on admissions.

00:03:08	Promotion process.  Relationships in the department.  The chairmanship and the practice of handing it on to favorites.  Consequences.  Research in the department.

00:10:02	Heavier teaching loads in World War II.  Moved to new building in 1947.

00:12:11	Changes after war.  More money.  More time for research.  Mortensen, chairman, had faculty meetings.

00:16:16	Bowers and the reasons for his difficulties.

00:19:15	More research being done in neuroanatomy.  Use of electron microscope for cell biology.

00:22:10	Johns Hopkins a model for medical schools around the country.  Other models.  Bardeen's practice of not consulting others, countermanding decisions made elsewhere.

00:26:45	The pay cuts in the 1930s.

00:27:53	Advantages of the preceptor program.

Tape 3/Side 2

00:30:26	Some Medical School people who went to Europe.

00:31:31	Middleton's deanship.

00:33:55	His policies.  Concern for patient care.  HM's views of clinicians' research.  Attitudes to Middleton.  The "old Middleton crowd," the "Curreri mafia."  Favoritism, power in hands of few.  Inbred school.

00:41:48	Bowers had good objectives but was poor with people.  The case of the planning of the library.  Youmans' accusation to Bowers.  Good basic research required cooperation of Medical School with Agriculture and life sciences.

00:55:05	Attitudes to Jews and women changed during the war.  A black student HM had in 1930s--one of his best students.

Tape 4/Side 1

01:01:22	An illustration of prejudice toward HM's black student.

01:06:03	Glenn Frank.

01:09:00	The Experimental College.

01:09:40	Dykstra.

01:10:03	A mistake on Fred's part in bringing Bowers here.

01:11:11	Elvehjem.

01:11:30	Harrington.  The pornographic art exhibit in the Union during legislative hearing on budget.

01:14:14	Medical School's part in faculty governance.

01:18:53	Ways to meet people in the '30s; professional fraternities.

01:20:53	Q. on support for social sciences and humanities.  Not much attention to it in Medical School.  HM's comments on sociological research.

01:24:47	Saw himself as UW citizen.

Tape 4/Side 2

01:28:51	Distinguished people in the UW.  Jim Crow; McShan.

01:33:33	Slichter; Baldwin; Max Otto.  Tom Brittingham.  Puestow.

01:43:08	End of interview.

END