SOM dean creates exhibit to honor seven key predecessors
When Dr. Garland D. Anderson was appointed dean of UTMB’s School of Medicine, he didn’t have to look far for inspiration in his new role.
“I was familiar with the story of UTMB’s first School of Medicine dean, Dr. John Fannin Paine, because he had also been UTMB’s first chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology,” Anderson said. “He was also a bit of a legend in Texas medicine, and at 6 foot, 4 inches and almost 300 pounds, he cut quite a dashing figure in Galveston.”
Anderson notes the School of Medicine had seven deans in particular who served at pivotal times in the history of UTMB, and whose leadership was transformational to the school. It was a desire to tell their stories, and to share some of UTMB’s rich history with the School of Medicine and visitors to campus, that inspired Anderson to create an exhibit in the School of Medicine’s administrative suite. He has dubbed the deans “The Magnificent Seven.”
The seven, Dr. John Paine, Dr. Allen Smith, Dr. William Spencer Carter, Dr.William Kieller, Dr. Chauncey Leake, Dr. Truman Blocker and Dr. George Bryan, all left their indelible mark on UTMB.
“Their dedication to the school was extraordinary, and often came at a personal price,” Anderson said. Kieller, for instance, didn’t ask for a raise for 21 years, and made his own microscope slides out of window glass panes. He also created magnificent chalk anatomy drawings, many of which are still in UTMB’s archive collection. Smith, the second dean of the school, turned down a more lucrative offer from the University of Pennsylvania after his medical students collected $1,000 to convince him to stay in Galveston. Smith not only stayed, he returned the students’ money, and later helped purchase the first fraternity house on campus.
And Carter arrived in Galveston during a yellow fever epidemic. He was told by then Smith, dean at the time, “Carter, I can’t urge you to stay under the circumstances, but if you do stay, and are alive at the end of it, you will be very glad that you did so.” Carter went on to serve for 23 years, the longest tenure of any School of Medicine dean.
Anderson invites all interested employees to stop by the fifth floor of the Administration Building to read about the deans, and watch for biographies of each in upcoming issues of the School of Medicine E-News.
“All of us here today owe these individuals a debt of gratitude for what they made possible,” Anderson said. “This school had many opportunities to perish over the years, and these men allowed UTMB to not only survive, but thrive.”
The biographical information on “The Magnificent Seven” was drawn from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston: A Seventy-Five Year History by the Faculty and Staff; Saving Lives, Training Caregivers, Making Discoveries: A Centennial History of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, by the late Dr. Chester R. Burns; past issues of the Alcalde, the alumni magazine for the University of Texas, and the Cactus, the student yearbook for the University of Texas, and the University of Texas’ Handbook of Texas Online.
“I want to thank Sarita Oertling, John Glowczcski, Holly Hackett, and Jackie Genovese for their assistance with this project,” Anderson said. “It was a great team effort.”