Nancy Woelfl, Ph.D., director emeritus of the McGoogan Library of Medicine, has enjoyed serving with the UNMC Faculty Women’s Club these past few years.
Dr. Woelfl joined the club only after her recent retirement, because she felt previously she wouldn’t have had time. And that was right for her.
But Pat Leuschen, Ph.D., said the best time for UNMC faculty women or faculty spouses to join the club is right now.
Yes, now.
“In the middle of the chaos,” she said.
When Dr. Leuschen joined, she had just become faculty, had four kids at home and a husband whose job had them attending every fundraiser in town.
“That’s when I first understood the importance of knowing my colleagues,” Dr. Leuschen said.
In the middle of the chaos, she joined the Faculty Women’s Club — for a break. For a night out. For shoulders to lean on.
“Jim and I were involved in a gourmet group,” in the club, Dr. Leuschen said. “It was a shortcut for some good food, and we met some great friends. We stayed friends for a long, long time.”
The club has been there for UNMC women for as far back as anyone can remember.
“I don’t know how old it is,” said longtime member Virginia Grissom.
“Almost 100,” said Dr. Leuschen, who retired in 2013 after more than 35 years at UNMC.
“It was established in 1920,” Dr. Woelfl said.
“When I was a year old,” Mrs. Grissom said.
And it is still making vital contributions. The club keeps current by working with students. Each year, the Faculty Women’s Club raises more than $10,000 for UNMC student scholarships. In all, more than $270,000 over the last 20 years.
The students are incredibly grateful. “You get these fantastic letters,” Dr. Leuschen said.
But it also makes a difference in the lives of its members.
“You see ties that are warm and deep, and long-lasting,” Dr. Woelfl said.
Mrs. Grissom can attest to that. She and her husband, the late Robert Grissom, M.D., UNMC’s first chairman of internal medicine, came to UNMC in 1953. They didn’t really know anyone.
But then Peyton Pratt, M.D., rang their doorbell, holding a ham. “I knew it was going to be OK,” Mrs. Grissom said.
She joined the club, networked with other UNMC women. “We all got to be best friends,” she said.
For more on the club, contact its leadership or check out its website.