Charles Dohner papers, 1967-2010

The Charles Dohner papers primarily document his service at the School of Medicine from 1967 to 1996 in establishing and chairing the Department of Medical Education at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The Department of Medical Education became the Department of Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics in 2002. Many of the records are correspondence and notes related to his promotion of and work with international students visiting the UW, and with UW students traveling to Asia to study. These records also include documents from his travels to China, Tibet, and Mongolia.

Other records include meeting and conference materials and notes from Dohner’s participation in professional societies, including the China Medical Board, the China Partnership Project, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Inc., and the Institute for International Medical Education. Sub-groups include documents relating to the China Medical University, and King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia.

The collection also contains a progress report on WWAMI and a letter describing the history of this program at the School of Medicine. Academic papers, primarily by Charles Dohner and Dave Irby, an associate professor in the Division of Research in Medical Education and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the School of Medicine, and reprints of educational articles on teaching methods, curriculum evaluation, and student evaluation models are also found in this collection. The collection includes memorabilia such as Chinese lacquer boxes and wall hangings, correspondence, and photographs.

Of note are the gifts, some of which would make beautiful display pieces. The photo album of Sichuan Medical College in Box 3 is an ideal snapshot of the College at that time. There is a letter in Box 6 that contains the history of WAMI program that would be very useful source material for a retrospective article on that program

The records range in dates from 1967 to 2010 and the bulk of the records are from 1975 to 1989. Some are original records and others are published materials. Much of the original order is lost, other than some subgroups that have not been rearranged, and some order has been imposed on the records.