Franklin M. Loew Papers

Collection

Call Number: MS278

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Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials from the life and career of Dr. Franklin M. Loew, Dean of the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine from 1982-1995. Included are materials from Dr. Loew's various academic and leadership positions, including Professor at the University of Saskatchewan from 1967-1977, Director of the Department of Comparative Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine from 1977-1982, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University from 1995-1997, CEO of Medical Foods Inc. from 1997-1998, and President of Becker College from 1998-2003.

Record types include correspondence, administrative records, research and reference materials, newpaper clippings, and writings by Loew, as well as VHS and cassette tape recordings related to veterinary medicine, slides of research materials, floppy disks, and photographic prints. Topics discussed include, but are not limited to, veterinary medicine generally and its historical development, ethical treatment of animal research subjects, nutritional research, higher education administration, and collaborative research with both American and international colleagues.

Dates

Creation: circa 1808 -- 2002
Creation: Majority of material found within 1961 -- 2002

Creator

Loew, Franklin M. (Person)

Access

This collection contains some restricted material. Restrictions related to specific material are listed in the detailed contents list. This collection may require review before it is available for use. Please contact DCA for further details.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Please see “Reproductions and Use” on the Digital Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permission to publish. No documentation is available regarding the intellectual property rights in this collection.

Biographical / Historical

Dr. Franklin M. Loew (1939-2003) served as Dean of the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine from 1982-1995. Loew was born in Syracuse, New York in 1939. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1961, and his doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1965, from Cornell University. He also completed a doctorate in nutrition from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where he was then appointed Professor of Physiology and the Director of the Resource Program in Toxicology at the university’s Animal Resources Center. He would hold this position from 1967-1977, before accepting the position of Director of the Department of Comparative Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he would serve from 1977-1982. From 1982-1995, Dr. Loew was the Dean of the Tufts School of Veterinary medicine. During his tenure at Tufts, he greatly increased the profile of the Veterinary School, developing specialties in biotechnology, equine sports medicine, wildlife medicine, and veterinary ethics. Loew then left Tufts to become the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, where he stayed from 1995-1997, before becoming the CEO of Medical Foods Inc. in 1997. Dr. Loew then served as the eighth President of Becker College from 1998 until his death in 2003.

In the 1970s, Loew was a member of the award-winning research team behind the development and commercialization of canola oil. In addition to numerous scientific articles and op-ed pieces, Loew was also the author of “Vet in the Saddle: John L. Poett, First Veterinary Surgeon in the North West Mounted Police,” published in 1978. He was also elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1990 and held several other non-profit boards of trustees positions throughout his career. Dr. Loew was married twice, first to Mary Moffatt Loew, and later to Deborah Digges, Professor of English at Tufts from 1986-2009. He had two sons, Timothy and Andrew Loew, as well as two stepsons, Charles and Stephen Digges. Franklin Loew died in April 2003. The Franklin M. Loew Veterinary Education Center at the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine’s Grafton campus was dedicated in 1992.

Extent

21 Linear Feet (21 record cartons)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

This collection contains materials from the life and career of Dr. Franklin M. Loew, who served as Dean of the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine from 1982-1995 in addition to holding positions at several other universities. Materials include correspondence, administrative records, research and reference materials, newpaper clippings, and writings by Loew, as well as audiovisual materials related to veterinary medicine and teaching.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in received order.

Custodial History

This collection was transferred to the Archives by John Bourgeois, Library Manager for the Webster Family Library at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.

Appraisal

Family and personal photographs were removed from the collection.

Processing Information

Processing was completed by Kate McNally, Records and Accessioning Archivist, and Isabelle Cordero, Roving Archivist, in 2022. Materials were placed in archival boxes and folders where needed, and a box-level inventory and finding aid were produced at the time of processing.