Plans and Becoming Dean

After Smith returned from his sabbatical in the mid 1970's, he, Scully and other administrators began discussing converting their school to a four-year school, and drafted a plan for the Board of Regents and state Legislature to approve by 1978. The school decided to focus on general care, rather than specialize in certain fields or practices, and Scully gathered information from many sources within the school to produce the conversion plan. Scully details some of the inner-workings of the conversion, and about testifying to the state legislature about the conversion. He also describes the efforts to build several dedicated buildings for the medical school, including the Savitt Building.

The Vacation and Becoming Dean

With the Regents and Legislature approving the deal, Scully and his family decided to take a break and went on vacation to Spain. Upon returning from, Dean Smith announced his retirement to Fred Anderson and Scully, which led to Scully's appointment as dean of the school. Continuing with the task of finding department chairs, Scully managed the school in a way that would allow it to grow alongside the university.