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Vol. 3 No. 4

Perspectives

Spring 2003

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The Dean's Corner By Dean Steven Leslie

Summer is always an interesting time of year here in Austin. In exchange for the relatively mild winters experienced in this part of the country, we get the summer sun bringing temperatures that challenge even the brightest spirits.

Along with the heat from the sun, this season has brought other challenges as we in Texas, in Austin, and within the University community wrestle with how to maintain services in light of reduced budget appropriations.

It’s enough to make a pharmacy dean sweat –– almost. Then along comes a breath of fresh air.

Mid-way through the summer heat and the budget crunch, I had the opportunity to spend some time one morning with Doris Smith.

Doris is a life-long Austinite and a 1940 graduate of the UT College of Pharmacy. She was college age in another time of uncertainty and in an era when much of society felt it best for a woman to confine her work to domestic tasks and volunteerism. But Doris had a father who wanted more for his daughter, and Doris, it turned out, had a keen mind for science and a love for people. She must have felt some heat herself when she became one of only five women in the UT Pharmacy Class of 1940. And, I suspect that Doris’ dean, W. F. Gidley, had his own reasons to sweat as he prepared budgets and oversaw the College as the world again faced impending war.

Like most students, whether they are from the 1940s or today, Doris faced challenges. Classes were demanding and money was tight. It was enough to make even a lovely young coed sweat –– almost. But Doris, I am proud to say, found her own breath of fresh air in the form of caring faculty members.

Some helped her review her interests and strengths and guided her in her studies. Others to whom she confided her economic worries helped her find resources that permitted her to continue her studies.

Sixty plus years after her graduation, Doris is a true delight. We sat together as she reviewed a scrapbook filled with photos of her former classmates and teachers. Her memory was both keen and kind as she reviewed the faces and recalled the lives they represented.

Doris was strengthened by these individuals and realized her dream of a fulfilling career in pharmacy. No doubt, she performed a tremendous service and provided her own breath of fresh air to her patients.

I left our visit refreshed, realizing again the importance of our work here at the UT College of Pharmacy. Our task is to transform lives, one student at a time, for the benefit of society.

Ah, what a breath of fresh air.