Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1944 [PAGE 77]

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74

BOARD OF T R U S T E E S

[August 29

On his return to the United States in 1933 Mr. H a m m e r asked for the return of the moulages and models. W h a t was left, according to the information before me, consisted of broken pieces, fragments of moulds and the like, with possibly one or two exceptions including a complete model of the human heart. During his absence it was necessary to dispose of this material in connection with a building remodeling job, but not until long after Mr. H a m m e r had left. It was very uncertain whether Mr. H a m m e r would return, and in any event it was impossible to get in touch with him when the University needed the space. H e filed a claim against the University for $50,000 in the Superior Court of Cook County on November 8, 1934, and the case was heard by Judge McGoorty in October, 1936. T h e Board of Trustees of the University was represented by an Assistant Attorney General and Judge Sveinbjorn Johnson, University Counsel. During the trial which lasted three days, and at all times before and since when the matter has been discussed, members of the staff who knew the facts maintained that the material Mr. H a m m e r left when he departed for Germany was worthless and was mostly rubbish. They likewise deny, as already stated, that any request had been made of Mr. H a m m e r for permission to use the moulages and models he left, or that any assurances were given him they would be preserved. In fact, there was no assurance that he would return. At the conclusion of the testimony the Court granted a motion for a directed verdict that the evidence failed to show any liability on the part of the University, and that the University was not liable in tort in any event in the circumstances disclosed. T h e University has received no official notice that this case is in the Court of Claims. We have no information as to what is being done to defend the University against this claim. In other words, no request has been made for information as to the facts from the standpoint of the defense since June 24, 1935, when Mr. Otto Kerner, then Attorney General of Illinois, advised us that a claim had been filed and requested a report from the University Counsel which was promptly furnished. Nor has any request been received for the cooperation of the University in the preparation of a defense in the Court of Claims. At the trial in the Superior Court in 1936 the University produced several witnesses, and it is, of course, impossible to try the case anywhere in Court without witnesses. I n view of the facts, I cannot recommend that the University agree to a compromise, as suggested by the attorney for the plaintiff, but am bringing his request to the attention of the Board for its decision. O n m o t i o n of M r . A d a m s , t h e B o a r d c o n c u r r e d in t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n t h a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y d o n o t a g r e e t o a n y c o m p r o m i s e in t h i s c l a i m . MANDAMUS FOR ADMISSION OF EARL BERTRAM ZAZOVE TO COLLEGE OF MEDICINE (22) A petition for a writ of mandamus has been filed by Honorable Robert Petrone, a member of the General Assembly of Illinois, and Earl Bertram Zazove, of Chicago, in the Circuit Court of Cook County to compel officials of the University of Illinois to issue Mr. Zazove a certificate of scholarship in the University and to admit him to the College of Medicine. T h e petition names " T h e University of Illinois and Dr. Karl A. Meyer, Frank A. Jensen, Orville M. Karraker, James M. Cleary, H o m e r Mat Adams, John R. Fornof, Mrs. Helen M. Grigsby, P a r k Livingston, Chester R. Davis, Trustees of the University of Illinois, Arthur Cutts Willard, President of the University of Illinois, Raymond B. Allen, Executive Dean of Chicago Department of University Medical School, George R. Moon, Examiner and Recorder," as respondents. Mr. Zazove, an applicant for admission to the College of Medicine, was nominated by Representative Petrone for a General Assembly scholarship. H e was one of the candidates for admission who was not assigned a place in the 1942 class, which will enter in September, when that class was filled. As is generally known, the University has more applicants for admission to its College of Medicine than classroom and laboratory facilities will accommodate. Since this situation makes necessary some method of selection of candi-