Finding aid for the Robert E. Tranquada papers
0089
Meghan Stephens
USC Libraries Special Collections
2013 April
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Robert E. Tranquada papers
Creator:
Tranquada, Robert E.
Identifier/Call Number: 0089
Identifier/Call Number: 1033
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/3/resources/88
Physical Description:
5.38 Linear Feet
6 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1959-2012
Abstract: Professional files of Dr. Robert E. Tranquada during his career at the University of Southern California, including during
his tenure as Dean of the USC School of Medicine (1986-1991).
Language of Material:
English
.
Biographical note
Robert E. Tranquada graduated from Pomona College, summa cum laude, in 1951, received his M.D. degree from Stanford University
School of Medicine in 1955, served as a Resident in Medicine from 1955-1958 and as a Fellow in Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases
in 1958-1959 at the UCLA Medical Center and as Fellow in Diabetes at the USC School of Medicine from 1959-1960. Dr. Tranquada's
management responsibilities included service as Chairman of the USC Department of Community Medicine and Public Health (1966-1969),
Associate Dean of the USC School of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center (1969-1974),
Regional Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (1974-1976), Associate Dean of the UCLA School of
Medicine (1976-1979), Chancellor and Dean of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (1979-1986), Dean of the USC School
of Medicine (1986-1991), and the Norman Topping/National Medical Enterprises Professor of Medicine and Public Policy from
1992 until his retirement in June 1997.
Scope and Content
Approximately half of the Robert E. Tranquada papers consist of correspondence to and from Tranquada during his tenure as
Dean of the USC School of Medicine from 1986 to 1991. The other half of the collection, added as an accrual in 2023, documents
a broader scope of Dr. Tranquada's career at USC--not just as medical school dean, but beginning in 1959 when he joined USC's
faculty. The papers document both Tranquada's administrative activities as Dean (letters, notes, documents, budgets, recommendations,
grant requests and project proposals), and his expertise in health care policy, health services administration, community
medicine and public health, and medical education. The collection also documents Tranquada's role in the creation of what
is now the Watts Health Center, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community
Hospital; his service as medical director of Los Angeles General Medical Center, on the Los Angeles County Health Access Committee,
and on the Christopher Commission; and his trips to South America, Asia, and Russia on behalf of the medical school in his
role as strategic director for international programs.
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special
Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], Robert E. Tranquada papers, Collection no. 0089, University Archives, Special Collections, USC
Libraries, University of Southern California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Medical education -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Medical colleges -- California -- Los Angeles -- Administration -- Archival resources
Correspondence
Newspaper clippings
Offprints
Photographs
University of Southern California. School of Medicine -- Faculty
Tranquada, Robert E. -- Archives
University of Southern California. School of Medicine -- Archives
Box 1, Folder 1
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3870442384
August 1986
Scope and Content
Folder 1 contains various correspondence about Dr. Robert Tranquada accepting his position as the Dean of the USC School of
Medicine and the changes and expenses to be paid to make this transition.
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3871442385
September 1986
Scope and Content
Correspondence concerning the approval and disaproval of various projects, including the Institute of Aging. The letters also
include nominations for various positions.
Box 1, Folder 3
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3872442386
October 1986
Scope and Content
Folder 3 included correspondence about the tasks and changes in the Medical School and its programs.
Box 1, Folder 4
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3873442387
November 1986
Box 1, Folder 5
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3874442388
December 1986
Scope and Content
Correspondence solving conflicts and making changes to the programs and research supported by the USC School of Medicine.
Box 1, Folder 6
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3875442390
January 1987
Box 1, Folder 7
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3876442391
February 1987
Box 1, Folder 8
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3877442392
March 1987
Box 1, Folder 9
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3878442393
April 1987
Box 1, Folder 10
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3879442394
May 1987
Box 1, Folder 11
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3880442395
June 1987
Box 1, Folder 12
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3881442396
July 1987
Box 1, Folder 13
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3882442397
August 1987
Box 1, Folder 14
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3883442398
September 1987
Box 1, Folder 15
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3884442399
October 1987
Box 1, Folder 16
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3885442403
November 1987
Scope and Content
Includes a draft of the governance of the USC School of Medicine, USC's Equal Opportunity Policy and various other policy
documents along with normal correspondence.
Box 1, Folder 17
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3886442404
December 1987
Box 1, Folder 18
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3887442406
January 1988
Scope and Content
Correspondence addresses a current strike, different certifications, committee recommendations, and various others.
Box 1, Folder 19
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3888442419
February 1988
Box 1, Folder 20
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3889442418
March 1988
Box 1, Folder 21
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3890442425
April 1988
Box 1, Folder 22
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3891442427
1988
Scope and Content
Campus memos and correspondence about meetings and changes occuring in the Department of Medicine.
Box 1, Folder 23
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3892442428
June 1988
Box 1, Folder 24
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3893442429
July 1988
Box 1, Folder 25
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3894442430
August 1988
Scope and Content
Correspondence about program reviews, individual recomendations, and others.
Box 1, Folder 26
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3895442437
September 1988
Box 1, Folder 27
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3896442438
October 1988
Box 1, Folder 28
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3897442439
November 1988
Box 1, Folder 29
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3898442440
December 1988
Box 1, Folder 30
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3899442441
January 1989
Box 2, Folder 1
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3900442484
February 1989
Box 2, Folder 2
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3901442485
March 1989
Box 2, Folder 3
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3902442486
April 1989
Box 2, Folder 4
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3903442487
May 1989
Box 2, Folder 5
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3904442488
June 1989
Box 2, Folder 6
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3905442489
July 1989
Box 2, Folder 7
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3906442490
August 1989
Box 2, Folder 8
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3907442491
Spetember 1989
Box 2, Folder 9
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3908442492
October 1989
Box 2, Folder 10
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3909442493
November 1989
Box 2, Folder 11
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3910442494
December 1989
Box 2, Folder 12
Correspondence: R.E.T. File Notes /repositories/3/archival_objects/3911442495
undated
Scope and Content
Folder 12 includes various to-do lists and notes, a confidential note about the organization of the Medical School departments,
R.E.T. notes, calculations, and textual materials on the expansion of health research and patient care faciliites. Most of
this folder is hand written notes; however, there are also multiple typed documents.
Box 2, Folder 13
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3912442496
January 1990
Box 2, Folder 14
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3913442497
February 1990
Box 2, Folder 15
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3914442498
March 1990
Box 2, Folder 16
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3915442499
April 1990
Box 2, Folder 17
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3916442500
May 1990
Box 2, Folder 18
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3917442501
June 1990
Box 2, Folder 19
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3918442502
July 1990
Box 2, Folder 20
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3919442503
August 1990
Box 2, Folder 21
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3920442504
September 1990
Box 2, Folder 22
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3921442505
October 1990
Box 2, Folder 23
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3922442506
November 1990
Box 2, Folder 24
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3923442507
December 1990
Box 2, Folder 25
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3924442508
January 1991
Box 2, Folder 26
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3925442509
February 1991
Box 2, Folder 27
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3926442510
March 1991
Box 2, Folder 28
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3927442511
April 1991
Box 2, Folder 29
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3928442512
May 1991
Box 2, Folder 30
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3929442513
June 1991
Box 3, Folder 1
Correspondence: Budget /repositories/3/archival_objects/3930442518
1988-1989
Box 3, Folder 2
Correspondence: Budget Details /repositories/3/archival_objects/3931442519
undated
Box 3, Folder 3
Correspondence /repositories/3/archival_objects/3932442520
July-September 1991
Box 3, Folder 4
Correspondence: Korea /repositories/3/archival_objects/3933442521
1997
Scope and Content
Folder 4 contains letters of correspondence and plans about a potential extension of USC in Korea. This folder includes both
hand written and typed documents.
Material added to the collection in 2023 (accession no. 2023-049) /repositories/3/archival_objects/678582
circa 1959-2012
Scope and Contents
The following description was provided by Janet and James Tranquada, who donated the 2023 accrual to the collection.
Material relating to Dr. Tranquada's career at USC--not just as medical school dean, but beginning in 1959 when he joined
the faculty. Thus there is material relating to his role in the creation of what is today's Watts Health Center, Charles R.
Drew University of Medicine and Science, and MLK Hospital; his service as medical director of LA County General, on the LA
County Health Access Committee, and on the Christopher Commission; and his trips to South America, Asia and Russia on behalf
of the medical school in his role as strategic director for international programs.
Box 4
Material relating to South Los Angeles Healthcare Leadership Roundtable (SLAHLR), Chile urban health, Watts Health Center,
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, MLK Hospital, and other
/repositories/3/archival_objects/678583
1966-2004
Box 5
Material relating to LA County Health Services, speeches, conferences, Task Force on Access to Health Care, professional travel,
Independent Health Authority, and other
/repositories/3/archival_objects/678584
1969-2012
Box 6
General Hospital Diabetes Service Investigation /repositories/3/archival_objects/678586
1974
Box 6
Photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other material /repositories/3/archival_objects/678587
1968-1995