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A Zigzag Path to the Top

 

One speaker had a secret ambition to become dean of her alma mater, while another did not have a deanship on her radar screen at all. But all four panelists at the Feb. 11 professional development conference of the Association of Women Faculty kept their options open and responded to opportunities.

Speaking to faculty members from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and other Texas Medical Center institutions, Patricia Buffler, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and dean emerita, University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health, advised, "Think the impossible and sometimes it happens."

After earning her master's and doctoral degrees in public health at UC Berkeley, Buffler had a secret goal to be dean of that school someday. "At that point it was unthinkable, but you never know," she said. The path to her goal included 21 years in Texas, 16 of those at the UT School of Public Health at Houston. She served for four years as associate dean before leaving UT in 1991 to return to Berkeley.

Buffler reflected on a theme that was introduced by UT Health Science Center at Houston President James T. Willerson, M.D., and echoed by the other panelists: "When girls were asked what you wanted to do when you grew up, you rattled off that you wanted to be a mathematician or a doctor and the response was, 'No, no, no. Those just aren't the kinds of things that young girls do.'

"I picked the women's occupation that I was most excited about, which was nursing," Buffler said. "I was then in touch with all the sciences, and that created an opportunity for me to move into public health, which is my passion. In graduate school, I was encouraged by some to go on for a Ph.D., but when I approached one of the potential mentors at Berkeley, the response was, 'Well, I don't accept female graduate students as advisees because they're not serious about their careers. They go on and get married and have children.'

A lot of the things that turn out to be wonderful
you would never have dreamed of."
- Patricia Starck, D.S.N.

"This has been the dilemma - should the future of the family and the fulfillment of women as persons be at odds with each other? Today," Buffler said, "family responsibilities are shared to a much greater extent. But many women today still have what we call the double burden."

Willerson related a similar anecdote about his mother's and sister's brush with sexism early in their respective careers as an anesthesiologist and a lawyer.

"I really encourage every one of you," Willerson said. "If you're looking for advice or encouragement or want to bounce ideas about direction off of me, I'm available."

To deal with the demands of a family and a challenging career, don't be afraid to ask for help, advised Laura Schweitzer, Ph.D., associate vice president for health affairs and interim dean of the School of Medicine, University of Louisville. She is the first female Ph.D. dean of a medical school in the United States.

When she was first asked to serve as associate dean of the medical school, she said, "My life was pretty busy. I still had my NIHfunded lab in full swing. I was still carrying a full teaching schedule. But I thought about what a wonderful learning experience it would be for me. So rather than say no, I negotiated for lots of help."

Being dean of a medical school was not on Schweitzer's radar screen at all. After starting college as a special education major, she switched to psychology. She earned her doctorate in psychology, then sought out a postdoctoral position in neuroscience because she thought she might find greater opportunities in a medical field.

"We all have obstacles in our path," Schweitzer said, both perceptual and personal. For example, some thought that as a Ph.D., she couldn't understand the business and culture of medicine.

"You can overcome even the most difficult obstacles," she said, through four steps: broaden your options; take opportunities as they arise; work hard to optimize those opportunities; and sustain a positive outlook."

The first female dean of a U.S. dental school, Jeanne Sinkford, D.D.S., Ph.D., agreed with Schweitzer that medical or dental school does not prepare a person to be an administrator. "They're not teaching you how to interview people; they're not teaching you negotiation skills," she said.

Unlike Schweitzer, who is completing an M.B.A., Sinkford learned the administrative ropes from her colleagues. "A mentor was able to guide me through the process of budget, of hiring, of those kinds of things that you have to do," she said.

Sinkford, who was dean of the Howard University College of Dentistry for 16 years, has been associate executive director of the Center for Equity and Diversity, American Dental Education Association, for the past 12 years.

Emphasizing the importance of growing up in a home with educational values and high standards, Sinkford credited some of her early experiences with providing unrecognized leadership training. Girl Scouts taught her teamwork, leadership and being prepared. ROTC cadet corps in high school included military- style officer's training. And dancing taught discipline, order, being on time, and attention to the physical being. Taking advantage of such leadership training opportunities "builds along the way," she said.

"I never had to look for a job because I was prepared," Sinkford said. "If you're ready and the opportunity comes, you can step into those leadership positions."

For Patricia Starck, D.S.N., too, "Most of my career advances have come from someone tapping me on the shoulder and saying, 'There's an opening here that I think you'll be good for.' And my reaction was always, 'Who, me?'

"I now see the younger generation not quite in that same category because you had mothers who said you can do anything you want to do, be anything you want to be," said Starck, dean and the John P. McGovern Distinguished Professor, UT School of Nursing at Houston. "For the younger generation, I think it's more incumbent upon you to decide in your own mind what you want to be, what your interest is and start toward that now."

Starck mentioned two attitudes that have helped her to move ahead.

One is to be open to opportunities. "A lot of the things that turn out to be wonderful you would never have dreamed of," she said. For example, accepting a request to consult on the nursing program at a little-known university introduced her to a physician who was later asked by President Bill Clinton to assemble a national health care reform advisory group. Starck was the only national advisory group member appointed from Houston.

Second is to be willing to take on new and additional responsibilities. "We have told our younger generation, don't overload yourself, and that's important, but you have to know the difference when to say no and when to say I'll take it on," she said.

"To be effective," Starck said, "it's not only your leadership style, but it's understanding the problem and analyzing the situation." She listed the four Fs that guide her:

1. Be flexible.
2. Figure it out.
3. Have a goal of finishing first.
4. Have some feistiness, ferociousness and tenaciousness to keep striving and keep moving ahead.

 

By Ina Fried, Public Affairs