Images of Learning

Education Graphics from the Biomedical Communications Department

Seeing the need to support their growing faculty and student body the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (now UNTHSC) recruited Kenneth M. Coffelt to establish the Instructional Media Department (later called Biomedical Communications) on campus in 1974.  The department would grow and become composed of medical arts, photography, print services, audio-visual/television, and electronic engineering. 

The materials on exhibit are drawn from the medical arts division of the department. This division produced medical illustrations for classroom use, publications, and a varying array of images for the campus community. 

In the days before widespread computer use and the internet, the art produced by the medical arts division had to relay complex topics and subjects in a clear and accurate way using traditional media. Artists had to be skilled in both the sciences and visual communication. Their art also had to be easily reproduced by printers for use in classrooms and publications. While some of the artists who worked in the department over the years are known, most are not since the works are often unsigned and records of department staff are scarce. The materials contained in the Medical Illustrations Collection not only show the finished pieces, but also the many steps and iterations the department artists went through in creating the final work.

While the Biomedical Communications department no longer exists, the works presented here showcase the skill and care that the artists took in supporting the campus community.