In 1955, Oregon state Senator Mark Hatfield co-sponsored a bill to transform the medical school into a teaching hospital, and in 1974 the State of Oregon merged the institutions located on Marquam Hill into the University Hospital independent of the University of Oregon. Hatfield's continued support of medical research in Oregon in general and the hospital in particular was recognized by the institution in 1998 with the dedication of the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center, and the creation of the Hatfield information wall on permanent display in the lobby of the main hospital. In 2008, Governor Kulongoski released an executive order designating the Mark O. Hatfield Chair of the OHSU Board of Directors to commemorate Hatfield's commitment to the institution.