Abraham Flexner
Encyclopedia
Abraham Flexner was an American educator. His Flexner Report
, published in 1910, reformed medical education
in the United States. He also helped found the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton
.
, who was employed by the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
from 1901-1935, Flexner graduated from Johns Hopkins University
at age 19. Nineteen years later he did graduate studies at Harvard University
and at the University of Berlin. However, he did not complete work on an advanced degree at either of those institutions.
After graduating from Johns Hopkins, Flexner returned to Louisville and founded a private school in which to test his ideas about education. He believed that education should be marked by small classes, personal attention, and hands-on teaching. Graduates of his school were soon accepted at leading colleges, and Flexner's school attracted considerable attention.
Between 1912 to 1925, Flexner served on the Rockefeller Foundation
's General Education Board
, and after 1917 was its secretary. With the help of the Board, he founded another experimental school, the Lincoln School
, which opened in 1917, in cooperation with the faculty at Teachers College
of Columbia University
.
In 1908, Flexner published his first book, The American College. Strongly critical of many aspects American higher education, it was especially critical of the university lecture as a method of instruction. According to Flexner, lectures enabled colleges to "handle cheaply by wholesale a large body of students that would be otherwise unmanageable and thus give the lecturer time for research."
Flexner's book attracted the attention of Henry Pritchett, president of the Carnegie Foundation
, who was looking for someone to lead a series of studies of professional education. Although Flexner had never set foot inside a medical school, Flexner was Pritchett's first choice to lead a study of American medical education. Thus Flexner joined the research staff at the Carnegie Foundation
in 1908. Two years later, he published the Flexner Report
, which examined the state of American medical education and led to far-reaching reforms in the way doctors were trained. The Flexner report led to the closure of most rural medical schools and all but two of America's African American medical colleges. Ironically one of the schools was located in his own hometown of Louisville, Louisville National Medical College.
Flexner soon conducted a related study of medical education in Europe. According to Bonner (2002), Flexner's work came to be "nearly as well known in Europe as in America." With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation
, he worked toward restructuring the nation's medical schools. Flexner (Bonner 2002) "...exerted a decisive influence on the course of medical training and left an enduring mark on some of the nation's most renowned schools of medicine." Flexner worried that "the imposition of rigid standards by accrediting groups was making the medical curriculum a monstrosity," with medical students moving through it with "little time to stop, read, work or think." Bonner (2002) calls Flexner "the severest critic and the best friend American medicine ever had."
In his 1930 Universities: American, English, German, Flexner, returning to his earlier interest in the direction and purpose of the American university, attacked distractions from serious learning such as intercollegiate athletics, student governments, and other student activities. "Intellectual inquiry, not job training, [is] the purpose of the university."
With Louis Bamberger
, Flexner founded the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton, heading it from 1930 to 1939 and overseeing a faculty that included Kurt Gödel
and John von Neumann
. During his time there, Flexner helped to bring over many European scientists who would have likely suffered persecution at the hands of the rising Nazi government. Flexner even penned the letter inviting Albert Einstein
to the Institute and to the United States.
The Flexner family's legacy in American science and academia still survives. In addition to the contributions of his brother Simon, Louis Barkhouse Flexner (January 7, 1902 - March 29, 1996), a nephew of Abraham and Simon Flexner, was the founding director of the Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania
and a former editor of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
.
Flexner is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky
.
Flexner Report
The Flexner Report is a book-length study of medical education in the United States and Canada, written by the professional educator Abraham Flexner and published in 1910 under the aegis of the Carnegie Foundation...
, published in 1910, reformed medical education
Medical education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, either the initial training to become a doctor or additional training thereafter ....
in the United States. He also helped found the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
.
Biography
A younger brother of the medical researcher Simon FlexnerSimon Flexner
Simon Flexner, M.D. was a physician, scientist, administrator, and professor of experimental pathology at the University of Pennsylvania . He was the first director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research and a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation...
, who was employed by the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
from 1901-1935, Flexner graduated from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
at age 19. Nineteen years later he did graduate studies at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and at the University of Berlin. However, he did not complete work on an advanced degree at either of those institutions.
After graduating from Johns Hopkins, Flexner returned to Louisville and founded a private school in which to test his ideas about education. He believed that education should be marked by small classes, personal attention, and hands-on teaching. Graduates of his school were soon accepted at leading colleges, and Flexner's school attracted considerable attention.
Between 1912 to 1925, Flexner served on the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
's General Education Board
General Education Board
The General Education Board was a philanthropy created by John D. Rockefeller and Frederick T. Gates in 1902. Rockefeller gave it $180 million, which was used primarily to support higher education and medical schools in the United States, and to help rural white and black schools in the South, as...
, and after 1917 was its secretary. With the help of the Board, he founded another experimental school, the Lincoln School
Lincoln School
- Places named more or less exactly "Lincoln School" :in Nepal*Lincoln School, Kathmandu, Nepalin the United Kingdom* Lincoln School was a boys' grammar and boarding school on Wragby Road in Lincoln, Lincolnshire which in 1974 became Lincoln Christ's Hospital School, a co-educational comprehensive...
, which opened in 1917, in cooperation with the faculty at Teachers College
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...
of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
In 1908, Flexner published his first book, The American College. Strongly critical of many aspects American higher education, it was especially critical of the university lecture as a method of instruction. According to Flexner, lectures enabled colleges to "handle cheaply by wholesale a large body of students that would be otherwise unmanageable and thus give the lecturer time for research."
Flexner's book attracted the attention of Henry Pritchett, president of the Carnegie Foundation
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
, who was looking for someone to lead a series of studies of professional education. Although Flexner had never set foot inside a medical school, Flexner was Pritchett's first choice to lead a study of American medical education. Thus Flexner joined the research staff at the Carnegie Foundation
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
in 1908. Two years later, he published the Flexner Report
Flexner Report
The Flexner Report is a book-length study of medical education in the United States and Canada, written by the professional educator Abraham Flexner and published in 1910 under the aegis of the Carnegie Foundation...
, which examined the state of American medical education and led to far-reaching reforms in the way doctors were trained. The Flexner report led to the closure of most rural medical schools and all but two of America's African American medical colleges. Ironically one of the schools was located in his own hometown of Louisville, Louisville National Medical College.
Flexner soon conducted a related study of medical education in Europe. According to Bonner (2002), Flexner's work came to be "nearly as well known in Europe as in America." With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, he worked toward restructuring the nation's medical schools. Flexner (Bonner 2002) "...exerted a decisive influence on the course of medical training and left an enduring mark on some of the nation's most renowned schools of medicine." Flexner worried that "the imposition of rigid standards by accrediting groups was making the medical curriculum a monstrosity," with medical students moving through it with "little time to stop, read, work or think." Bonner (2002) calls Flexner "the severest critic and the best friend American medicine ever had."
In his 1930 Universities: American, English, German, Flexner, returning to his earlier interest in the direction and purpose of the American university, attacked distractions from serious learning such as intercollegiate athletics, student governments, and other student activities. "Intellectual inquiry, not job training, [is] the purpose of the university."
With Louis Bamberger
Louis Bamberger
Louis Bamberger was Newark, New Jersey's leading citizen from the early 1900s until his death in 1944. He was a businessman and philanthropist and at his death all flags in Newark were flown at half-staff for three days, and his large department store closed for a day.Louis Bamberger was born in...
, Flexner founded the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton, heading it from 1930 to 1939 and overseeing a faculty that included Kurt Gödel
Kurt Gödel
Kurt Friedrich Gödel was an Austrian logician, mathematician and philosopher. Later in his life he emigrated to the United States to escape the effects of World War II. One of the most significant logicians of all time, Gödel made an immense impact upon scientific and philosophical thinking in the...
and John von Neumann
John von Neumann
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
. During his time there, Flexner helped to bring over many European scientists who would have likely suffered persecution at the hands of the rising Nazi government. Flexner even penned the letter inviting Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
to the Institute and to the United States.
The Flexner family's legacy in American science and academia still survives. In addition to the contributions of his brother Simon, Louis Barkhouse Flexner (January 7, 1902 - March 29, 1996), a nephew of Abraham and Simon Flexner, was the founding director of the Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and a former editor of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, usually referred to as PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences...
.
Flexner is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
Honors
- Abraham Flexner Way in downtown LouisvilleDowntown LouisvilleDowntown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west...
's hospital district was named by the Louisville Board of Aldermen in November 1978 to honor Flexner.
Books by Flexner
- 1910. Medical Education in the United States and Canada.
- 1910. Medical Education in the United States and Canada (at Google Books).
- 1916. A Modern School.
- 1918 (with F.B. Bachman). The Gary Schools.
- 1928. The Burden of Humanism. The Taylorian LectureTaylorian LectureThe Taylorian Lecture, sometimes referred to as the "Special Taylorian Lecture" or "Taylorian Special Lecture", is a prestigious annual lecture on Modern European Literature, delivered at the Taylor Institution in the University of Oxford since 1889....
at Oxford University. - 1930. Universities: American, English, German.
- 1940. I Remember: The Autobiography of Abraham Flexner. Simon and Schuster. Fulltext on Questia.
- 1943. A biography of H.S. PritchettHenry Smith PritchettHenry Smith Pritchett was an American astronomer and educator.-Biography:Pritchett was born on April 16, 1857 in Fayette, Missouri, and attended Pritchett College in Glasgow, Missouri, receiving an A.B. in 1875. He then took instruction from Asaph Hall for two years at the US Naval Observatory...
.
Books about Flexner
- Bonner, Thomas Neville, 2002. Iconoclast: Abraham Flexner and a Life in Learning. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. ISBN 0-8018-7124-7.
- Nevins, Michael, 2010. Abraham Flexner: A Flawed American Icon. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4502-6086-2.
- Starr, Paul, 1982. The Social Transformation of American MedicineThe Social Transformation Of American MedicineThe Social Transformation of American Medicine is a book written by Paul Starr and published by Basic Books in 1982. It won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction as well as the Bancroft Prize.Capers Jones wrote,...
. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-07935-0. - Wheatley, S. C., 1989. The Politics of Philanthropy: Abraham Flexner and Medical Education. University of Wisconsin PressUniversity of Wisconsin PressThe University of Wisconsin Press is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It primarily publishes work by scholars from the global academic community but also serves the citizens of Wisconsin by publishing important books about Wisconsin, the Upper Midwest, and...
. ISBN 0-299-11754-5.
External links
- Jacob This site offers biographical information about Abraham