Northwestern Health Sciences University history

In 1964, the medical library expanded as a result of the school's new G.D. Searle research building by extending out of its one-room configuration into an adjoining new reference room on the first level of Searle, leaving the original library space to serve as a new reading room.

In 1965 Northwestern introduced a new two-year pre-professional requirement for all incoming students, and adopted objectives that would ensure the development of a quality education program designed to meet the needs of the profession.

In 1974, the continuing growth of Northwestern led to the purchase of a campus in Saint Paul, located on Mississippi River Boulevard.

The Medical Library latched onto these services as much as possible by participating in the system established by its North Campus colleagues and was fully automated in 1986 when the last module -- the circulation system -- was introduced.

Library Notes 7(4): July/August 1990 (Galter Library Newsletter)

The Medical Library was able to claim leadership among its peers in health sciences and academic librarianship by introducing local MEDLINE services in 1993 when it purchased Ovid Technologies' online system.

The College became a University in 1999 when it merged with the Minnesota Institute of Acupuncture and Herbal Studies.

Adapted from The Galter Health Sciences Library of The Feinberg School of Medicine by James Shedlock, AMLS, AHIP, part of the entry on Northwestern University Libraries in the Encyclopedia of Library Science, 2nd ed., 2003.)

In 2008, Northwestern built the Wolfe-Harris Center for Excellence, which houses the Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies, the Greenawalt Library, and the Northwestern Student, Alumni and Career Services Center.

In 2010, NWHSU established the Center for Healthcare Innovation and Policy, to inform and influence patient-centered, evidence-informed public policy on behalf of complementary and integrative healthcare providers and patients.

To assist students with fulfilling prerequisites or completing a bachelor’s or associate’s degree, the College of Undergraduate Health Sciences was created in 2011 to offer pre-professional courses, including accelerated science courses and general education courses.

Beginning in 2012 and spanning the course of several years, over 300,000 physical volumes were shifted to Northwestern University’s Oak Grove remote storage facility or removed from the collection.

Our tradition of excellence has continued to evolve with Galter aligning with the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) in 2013 to support synergies for integrated resources, services and support.

The seventh President took office in November 2018.