Virtually every major U.S. university takes pride in its medical center, which usually comprises medical, dental and nursing schools and a complex of hospitals. But when it comes to fund raising, most universities step deftly aside and leave the medical centers to do their own barrel scraping. A Manhattan ceremony last week highlighted equally the financial straits of the nation's medical centers and the vastness of the sums they are seeking.
To the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center's fund drive, former Ambassador to Britain John Hay Whitney and his sister, Mrs. Charles S....