Dean Berry Backs JFK Measure To Help Med Schools, Students

George P. Berry, dean of the Harvard Medical School, heartily endorsed President Kennedy's proposed $237 million aid program for medical schools and students yesterday. "I'm certain that every medical school in the country is in favor of the bill," Berry said.

The bill is currently stalled in the House Rules Committee, where it was prevented by a 7-7 vote Wednesday from reaching the House floor for consideration. Washington papers report that, although the bill is not yet dead, it will probably stay bottled up for at least a month.

Dean Berry said that he has written to Rep. Oren Harris (D-Ark.), sponsor of the bill, praising the provision for loans to medical students. This provision would make available up to $2000 per year to students in need of financial help.

"The student loan portion of the bill faces strong opposition from the AMA, and I wanted to let Rep. Harris know that medical schools do not share the views of the AMA," he said.

Besides student loans, the bill also provides money for medical school buildings. Dean Berry said that this is the first time that an Administration bill has made funds available for teaching space as well as for laboratory space.

"This is as important departure from past bills," he said. "By providing money for classroom space the government might correct the imbalance that now exists in medical schools between research and teaching."

Berry added, however, that Harvard would probably not receive the full benefit of the funds for new buildings. The money would be given on a matching basis, and schools with increasing enrollments would have to pay 33 per cent of the costs, while schools whose enrollments remained the same would be required to put up 50 per cent.

Since the enrollment in the Harvard Medical School is not expected to increase substantially, the school will have to pay 50 per cent instead of 33 per cent, he said.