Dean Ebert Creates Committee To Study Med School Grading

Dr. Robert H. Ebert, dean of the faculty of Medicine, moved Friday to contain debate on the issue of pass-fail grading by agreeing to create a student-faculty committee to come up with a resolution on the problem before a faculty meeting in mid-January.

Eugene P. Kennedy, Kuhn Professor of Biological Chemistry, volunteered the idea of a committee at a Friday afternoon meeting of the faculty.

Ebert ruled that Kennedy's suggestion was a point of procedure and thus would face no vote, then accepted the measure.

The four faculty appointments to the group have not yet been named.

Student sources at the Med School said yesterday that the first year class will decide "sometime this week" how to choose their four representatives to the committee.

Kennedy's recommendation came during a discussion by faculty of a student resolution to restore pass-fail grading to the first year and a half of Med School.

The sole stipulation that Kennedy introduced to govern the student-faculty compromise was that any decision of the group would be retroactive for all grades recorded over the past term.

Voice of Reason

"He was the voice of reason," one student, who wished to remain anonymous, explained yesterday. "He was appreciative of the fact that students had stood off on the issue and not played their trump card."

Dr. Robert S. Blacklow, associate dean for Academic Programs, said last night that both students and faculty had welcomed Kennedy's measure because it would not allow debate on pass-fail grading "to explode."

The committee "will hammer something out," he added.

Over 90 per cent of the first year class forced faculty attention to the pass-fail question by numbering and not signing blue-books at two exams over the last month.

They first carried out the procedure at a midterm in Physiology November 14, and then again at a final exam in Microbiology a week ago.

However, students decided last week, "out of good faith," to release a sealed envelope containing the numbers and respective names to Ebert.

Sources indicated then that this move was made to avoid a "militant stance" that might force a faculty decision on the question before a January meeting.