Due to an extreme shortage of nurses in the Shreveport area, the CMMC Board of Directors decided to terminate their contract with the Northwestern State College School of Nursing and re-institute a Diploma School of Nursing at the hospital in an effort to retain more nurses. Although their contract officially ended on July 30, 1964, some Northwestern nursing students were allowed to remain in the CMMC Nurses’ Residence until other accommodations could be made. After months of searching for a qualified individual to head the newly established Diploma School of Nursing, Frances M. Hicks, R.N., the Assistant Administrator at Muscogee General Hospital in Oklahoma, was finally appointed as the Director of Nursing Education on December 1, 1964. The first class was admitted to the School in September 1965.     

The Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department was established on March 28, 1967 when Dr. Guilford G. Rudolph of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine was appointed as the founding Department Head.

On April 6, 1967, Dr. Helmut M. Redetzki, of the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, was named as Professor and Head of the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Department.

The Anatomy Department was established on August 20, 1967 when Dr. Adrian F. Reed of Tulane University was appointed as Professor and Department Head. Upon Dr. Reed’s retirement, November 30, 1977 was declared “Adrian F. Reed Day” when he was honored by students, faculty and staff. His tribute read, in part, “…he has been a constant source of inspiration to students, faculty and staff. The academic seeds that he has so patiently planted here will continue to bear excellent results throughout the future of this school.”

The appointment of Dr. Erich K. Lang on August 20, 1967 marked the founding of the Radiology Department. Lang, who came here from the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, was also named Head of Radiology at the Confederate Memorial Medical Center.

At the request of Dr. Edgar Hull, the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport was visited by representatives from the Liaison Committee of the Executive Council of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association on November 6-7, 1967.

A 33-page report was filed by the survey team with the final conclusion being, “The survey team is of the opinion that a letter of Reasonable Assurance of Accreditation submitted at this time to the Bureau of Health U.S. Public Health Service would have to be so conditioned that we urge re-examination of many facets of this program before such a letter is requested.” The survey team recommended that the school be re-surveyed in the fall of 1968.

The very last day of 1967 saw the selection of Mayo Drake as Professor and Head of the Department of Library Science. Drake, who came from the University of Florida’s Health Center Library, would serve as the distinguished Director of the LSU Medical Center Library for nearly twenty years.

The Microbiology and Immunology Department was established on January 7, 1968 with the appointment of Dr. Emil Kotcher, as Professor and Department Head. Kotcher had previously served as Professor of Medical Parasitology and Chief of the Parasitology Section at the Louisiana State University International Center for Medical Research and Training in San Jose, Costa Rica from 1963 to 1967.

Assistant Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs, Dr. William T. McElroy, announced that thirty-two young men and women had been accepted to begin their medical school training in September. They represented 17 Louisiana communities, including several from the Shreveport-Bossier City area. Twenty-five percent of the class was married and the average age was between 21 and 22.