archives collection - American Academy of Family Physicians ...

and Teaching Fellow in Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
from 1962 to 1963. In 1970, he became a charter diplomate of the ABFP (now ABFM) and returned
to the Medical College of South Carolina, where he established the Department of Family Practice,
serving as its Chairman for nineteen years, until his death in 1989.
The Hiram B. Curry, M.D. Collection consists of Dr. Curry’s files as Chairman of the Department of
Family Practice at the Medical College of South Carolina from 1970 to 1982. The files are arranged
chronologically, and contain department directories and publications, as well as correspondence,
newspaper clippings and lectures. Separate files also include early correspondence relating to the
establishment of the department and a department bibliography, as well as files on department
history.
Darley, Ward, Jr., M.D. (1903-1979)
1977
1 slim document case – See also: Photograph Collection
Ward Darley, Jr., M.D., was born in 1903 in Colorado. He received his A.B. degree in 1926 and his
M.D. in 1929, both from the University of Colorado. Upon completion of his medical degree, he
worked for thirteen years in private practice in Denver. In 1945, he joined the University of
Colorado College of Medicine as dean, served as professor from 1946-1956, and then served as
president of the university from 1953 to 1956. During his time at the university, a general medical
clinic established at Denver General Hospital became a widely recognized educational experiment in
comprehensive medical care, a special focus of his career. Dr. Darley was elected to the executive
council of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 1945 and became president in
1952, serving that same year as a member of President Truman’s Commission on the Health Needs
of the Nation. Dr. Darley was the AAMC’s first full-time Executive Director from 1956-1964.
When he retired, the AAMC awarded him its highest honor, the Abraham Flexner Award for
Distinguished Service to Medical Education. Throughout his career, Dr. Darley was a significant
and influential voice within Family Medicine. In 1966-1967, he served as the chairman or moderator
for a series of conferences sponsored by the FHFA on the role of the family physician in
comprehensive care. He was credited as suggesting that “a society of teachers of family medicine”
might seek representation on the Council of Academic Societies, which led to the founding of STFM
in 1967. He later served as a contributing editor to STFM’s Family Medicine Times and was named
an honorary STFM member. He died in 1979 in Laguna Hills, California.
The Ward Darley, Jr., M.D. Collection consists of one item, a letter written by Dr. Darley to Leland
Blanchard, M.D. on February 12, 1977. In the letter, Dr. Darley thanks Blanchard for loaning his file
on Family Medicine. This file is believed to be part of the missing “Blanchard papers.” The
provenance of this letter is unclear and how the letter became separated from the other materials of
Dr. Blanchard’s is a mystery. The letter also details Dr. Darley’s opinions on efforts to establish a
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