Author Description

THE LEGACY is more than a fascinating excursion into the genesis of veterinary medicine at Tuskegee University. It retains fidelity to known facts not usually recorded: things like construction of its first permanent facilities "built in part with gravel from a creek & timber from a forest on a Tuskegee farm; faculty architects drew the plans, Tuskegee student tradesmen did most of the construction work under faculty supervision, funded by modest Foundation grants"; & the struggles of the first faculty & those who came later, none with prior experience in veterinary medical education. Tuskegee's veterinary school has been described as a "Mistaken Creation"--doomed to failure from the start because of a paucity of funds, difficulties inherent in the recruitment of faculty & a numerically acceptable pool of minority applicants, coupled with the awesome responsibility of achieving accreditation. The school is living testimony that "people can do anything they want to do as long as they do not KNOW that it cannot be done". This book is an appropriate tribute to a remarkable group of administrators, faculty, staff & alumni & the good things they have done. Despite severe privations the school has amassed an incredible record of achievement. Of the nearly 1400 Black veterinarians in the United States, over 70% are Tuskegee graduates. It is important that the health profession community become aware of the contributions of the school & its graduates. THE LEGACY fulfills an important need to document the truth about the most ethnically diverse veterinary school in the United States. To order contact: Veterinary Medical Historical Fund, P.O. Box 67, Tuskegee Institute, AL 36087. Phone: 334-727-5241; FAX: 334-727-1716. Price $32.50 plus $2.75 shipping & handling per book in the U.S.A. Outside the U.S.A., $10.00.