Leroy E. Burney papers

The Burney Papers consist of twelve linear feet of office files from his service with the Milbank Memorial Fund, other professional files, reprints, speech texts and a few biographical files. The papers date primarily from 1970 to 1976 but include a few materials from 1936 forward. They are organized in three series: PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES, WRITINGS, and BIOGRAPHICAL FILES.

The bulk of the PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES series dates from the 1970s. The series is organized in three sections: Milbank Memorial Fund, Other Activities and Reference. The first section consists of a limited number of personal office files which Burney retained following his retirement from the fund, divided between General Files and Program Records. The General Files are arranged alphabetically and consist of Burney's outgoing correspondence and letters, announcements, mimeographed memoranda, reports, and speech texts which he received from associates in medicine and public health, Milbank colleagues, and professional organizations. Much of the correspondence is routine, although the files for Florence Kavaler, Cecil G. Sheps, and David Willis contain discussions and information on the fund's Commission for the Study of Higher Education for Public Health. The exchanges with Lester Breslow concern specific public health education programs. An uncharacteristically lengthy letter to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Elliot L. Richardson presents detailed defense of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

The Program Records in the Milbank Memorial Fund section are arranged chronologically by topic and include general administrative papers (e.g., correspondence, minutes, budget summaries, reports), and files for three fund programs: the African Medical Education Program, the Commission for the Study of Higher Education for Public Health, and the Human Resources Development project. Much of the material in Program Records is fragmented and concerns routine administrative and operational matters, but the Commission for the Study of Higher Education files provide extensive documentation of its organization and activities.

The Other Activities section of Series I is arranged alphabetically by organization and contains files from Burney's participation in several committees and commissions. The section also contains a few financial and administrative records and some correspondence from his service as health commissioner and secretary of the Indiana State Board of Health and two folders, consisting primarily of print material, from his tenure as vice president for health sciences in Temple University.

The bulk of the section consists of files for organizations in which Burney played an active role while he was with the Milbank Fund: the National Commission for the Study of Nursing and Nursing Education, the the National Council for International Health, the National Health Council, and the President's Committee on Health Education. Burney became president of the board of commissioners of the National Commission for the Study of Nursing Education in January 1971, and he served in both an advisory role and as a spokesman before state nursing groups. The papers (1971-1976) include correspondence, minutes, and reports, and the annual narrative report for October 1970 to September 1971, which summarizes the commission's organizations and objectives. The National Council for International Health subsection (1972-1976) reflects Burney's interest in international health issues and contains a complete run of agenda books for the period covered by the papers. Burney served as president (1968-1969) and as a member of the board of directors of the National Health Council, and the subsection (1968-1971) contains a relatively large amount of correspondence on administrative and operational matters.

The files of the President's Committee on Health Education, which was created by President Nixon in 1971, are of special interest; they reflect both national politics in the early 1970s and Burney's interest in health consumerism. The papers cover the extensive research conducted by the committee to develop a plan to raise the level of "health consumer citizenship" and the dissension which hindered the drafting of the final report. A memorandum from Victor Weingarten (1973 Jun 20) describes why the White House impounded the committees's printed report.

The Reference section is arranged chronologically and contains miscellaneous reprints, mostly from the late 1960s and the 1970s, on a variety of, general health-oriented topics.

Series II, WRITINGS, is arranged chronologically and spans the years 1937 to 1976. The series is extensive and is made up of reprints, speech texts, reports, and drafts of articles and other writings. The files occasionally include correspondence and reference material. The series contains bound volumes of Burney's speeches for the years 1954 to 1958.

Series III, BIOGRAPHICAL FILES, is arranged chronologically and consists of eight folders of biographical sketches, awards, photographs, newsclippings and related material.

The Burney Papers were donated to the Department of Manuscripts and Archives by Dr. Burney in 1978. The papers are part of the Contemporary Medical Care and Health Policy Collection, which also includes the Milbank Memorial Fund Records (Ms. Group 845).