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Authority record
McGovern Historical Center, Texas Medical Center Library Person

Schnur, Sidney

  • Person
  • 1910-1997

Sidney A. Schnur (June 23, 1910 – April 8, 1997) was born in Manhattan, New York and earned his MD from New York University in 1935. He was a physician and a clinical assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and he served as president of the Harris County Medical Society in 1972.

One of Schnur’s patients at St. Joseph’s Hospital, near death from cardiogenic shock (when the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs) after a heart attack, was the test for Denton Cooley’s heart-lung machine in April 1956; the patient lived another six weeks before succumbing to a second heart attack.

Otto, Dorothy

  • Person
  • d.2020

Dorothy Otto, EdD, MSN, RN, ANEF was an Associate Professor of Nursing Systems at the Cizik School of Nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
When the University of Texas School of Nursing in Houston was created in 1972, she came on board as a founding faculty member. She also served as acting dean from 1975-1977. Continuing to teach until her retirement in 2015, Otto became a go-to source on the history of the School.
Otto was a world traveler and combined this interest with her professional life. For roughly a decade, she served as Academic Leader for Nursing International Journeys—trips that introduced colleagues to health care practices in places like Egypt, Russia, China, and elsewhere. She had a particular interest in Florence Nightingale and visited the Nightingale Museums in London and Istanbul.
Interested in the history of nursing, Otto amassed a collection of nursing-related stamps from the U.S. and other countries.
Otto parlayed her collections, travels, and long history at the University of Texas in Houston into lectures and presentations about the history of nursing, as well as its development in Houston and Texas.
Dr. Otto received her BSN from the University of Houston in 1954; her MSN from Texas Woman's University in 1971; and her EdD from the University of Houston in 1985. She started her nursing career in McAllen, Texas, before coming to Houston in 1972.
Dorothy Otto died January 4, 2020.

Source: https://www.uth.edu/news/story.htm?id=ca4f2d0e-ce7c-4bee-9130-6ed37226d990

Ruiz, Richard S.

  • Person
  • 1932-2021

"Richard S. Ruiz, MD, was born in Houston on July 12, 1932. He established the Hermann Eye Center in 1977. A native Houstonian, Ruiz attended Texas A&M and graduated with an M.D. degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1957. During his internship at Hermann Hospital, Ruiz decided to specialize in ophthalmology. He was accepted at the Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit for a three year residency to train in ophthalmology, and then received a fellowship to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of the Harvard Medical School where he trained under Charles L. Schepens, MD, who is known as the “father” of modern retinal surgery. In July 1962, Ruiz returned home and opened his ophthalmology practice in the Hermann Professional Building. He worked diligently to build his practice and during the next ten years, founded Houston Eye Associates, brought highly trained subspecialists into the partnership, and was appointed Chief of Ophthalmology at Hermann Hospital. Along with practicing medicine, Ruiz worked to improve the hospital’s training program for new eye doctors.

In 1969, the University of Texas formally announced that it would establish a medical school in the Texas Medical Center, with Hermann Hospital as its primary teaching hospital. When details emerged about plans for Hermann’s new hospital building, a facility that would be interconnected to the Medical School and the hospital’s Robertson Pavilion, Ruiz began to develop an idea to utilize space in the new building to create a world class eye center. His plan would bring together his private ophthalmology practice, Hermann Hospital eye patients, and the teaching and research of the Department of Ophthalmology at the medical school into one endeavor. Ruiz’s appointment as Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology in the new medical school enabled him to take the final steps to create a comprehensive eye center. In time, the Hermann Eye Center became known for excellence in patient care, education, and research in ophthalmology.

Ruiz served as Chief of Ophthalmology at Hermann Hospital (later Memorial Hermann – TMC) from 1967 until 2009. He was the founding director of the Hermann Eye Center and the Hermann Eye Fund, and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Texas Medical School – Houston for the first thirty-seven years of its history." (1)

Dr. Ruiz died September 22nd, 2021.


  1. This biographical note is a direct quote from the book cover of: Ruiz, Richard S. and William H. Kellar. Ophthalmology at Hermann Hospital and the University of Texas, Houston: A Personal Perspective. N. p. 2010.

Dippel, A. Louis

  • Person
  • 1901-1991

Adelbert Louis Dippel was born in Ehlinger (now Ellinger), Texas, near LaGrange in Fayette County, on July 10, 1901. His grandparents all emigrated from Germany around 1850. His family wanted him to become an engineer but he had decided on medicine when he was twelve and admired the family doctor who treated him for malaria. He attended Blinn College in Brenham before earning both a B.S. and an M.S. from the University of Texas in 1924, then an MD from UTMB in 1928. Renal calculi kept him out of the service during World War II. Dr. Dippel was an instructor and associate professor in obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University from 1934 to 1940, then at the University of Minnesota from 1940 to 1943; he was head of that department in 1943 and 1944. He then returned to Texas to take positions at Baylor College of Medicine and UTMB, where he remained until he retired in 1977. He died in Tacoma, Washington, on September 6, 1991.

Rogillio, Lucile Baird

  • Person
  • 1903-1992

Lucile Baird Rogillio worked for Robert Jolly at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Houston, TX in the early 1920s. She began working as a P.B.X. operator then moved into the front office. She was married to George William ("Bill") Rogillio.

Hightower, Irma Elizabeth

  • Person
  • 1924-2018

Irma E. "Betty" Hightower. Ms. Hightower was born on December 27, 1924 in Marshall, TX. She graduated from Marshall High School she received her Bachelor of Science degree from East Texas Baptist University. She graduated on May 20, 1945 from the Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Houston, TX. She worked as a nurse anesthetist in hospitals in Texas and Louisiana for over 30 years before retiring from Schumpert Medical Center in Shreveport, LA. Her parents were Robert Henry Hightower and Irma Martha Hightower, and her siblings were Bobby Hightower and James Hightower. She passed away on February 7, 2018.

Cooper, Alan B.

  • Person
  • 1928-2002

Alan Bruce Cooper was born in New York, New York on August 19, 1928. He earned a BS in 1949 and a Master’s in immunogenetics in 1951 from Wesleyan University, followed by an MD in 1955 from New York Medical School. After serving as chief of pathology at Harvard University, he joined the Air Force. After his discharge as a major, he taught at Baylor College of Medicine and New Orleans Psychoanalytic Institute in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. He was also in private practice in Houston between 1968 and 1985. In 1986, Dr. Cooper was appointed medical director of the University of Texas Adult Ambulatory Psychiatric Services and was later a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He died in Houston on December 29, 2002, of lung cancer.

Jolly, Lillian Irene Wilson Burnett

  • Person
  • 1877-1953

Lillian Irene Wilson Burnett Jolly (Lillie Jolly) was born near Louisville, Kentucky in 1877. She graduated from the School of Nursing at the Kentucky School of Medicine in 1907. Before attending school she worked in mental health institutions. In 1908, she moved to Houston to be a surgeon’s assistant and director of nurses at the Baptist Sanitarium (later Memorial Hospital). Lillie Jolly was director of the Hospital Training School for Nurses for over 30 years, 1908-1947. In 1945 the school was renamed in her honor, the Lillie Jolly School of Nursing. From 1917 to 1920, she served as superintendent, leading the hospital for two years before re-focusing her attention to the nurses and the nursing school. Robert Jolly became superintendent and served in the position from 1920-1945. Robert and Lillie Jolly were married at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day 1924. She retired in 1947. Lillie Jolly died in 1953.

Jolly, Robert

  • Person
  • 1885-1952

Robert Jolly was the Superintendent of Memorial Hospital, Houston, Texas from 1920-1945. He was born in Cave City, Kentucky in 1885. He was a Baptist minister. He became the Business Manager for the Baptist Sanitarium in 1919. In 1920 he took over as superintendent for the hospital, a position he held until his retirement in 1945. As superintendent, Jolly oversaw the development and growth of the hospital for 24 years. Jolly was a great fundraiser and worked to make Memorial Hospital one of the leaders in health care. In 1922, the American College of Surgeons awarded Memorial its hospital certification. Jolly also represented the hospital in national organizations, taking leadership positions in the Texas Hospital Association, American Protestant Hospital Association, American Hospital Association, and American College of Hospital Administrators. Robert Jolly died in 1952.

Haas, Felix L.

  • Person
  • 1917-

Dr. Felix Levere Haas was born on October 26, 1917 in Alvin, Texas, the oldest son of three children. The Alvin native entered the University of Texas at Austin in 1939. His studies were interrupted with the onset of World War II. Haas en listed in the United States Army Air Corps. He received aviation training from January 5, 1942 - September 5, 1942. As a navigator he led numerous combat missions with the 13th Air Force over the South Pacific. He served until February 22, 1946 and was promoted to the rank of Captain.
In June of 1947, Haas received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Genetics and Bacteriology from U.T. He was awarded the Rosalie B. Hite Predoctoral Fellowship and continued to study for his Masters of Arts. Drs. Wilson S. Stone and Orville Wyss were pleased to have Haas as their research fellow. While experimenting he made an important discovery in the genetics of micro-organisms. He found that irradiation of the growth medium resulted in genetic mutations in bacteria when they were grown in it. In short, a biochemical basis must be present to produce mutations.
Felix Haas continued his research earning his M.A. in August of 1948. That same year he met Cathryn E. Swausch, Dr. Wyss' laboratory assistant. They worked closely together for the next two years and were married on January 21, 1950. By June, Dr. Haas received his doctorate in Biochemistry and Biology.
The Haas couple left the University of Texas at Austin for the California Institute of Technology, where Dr. Haas accepted a one year (1950-1951) postdoctoral fellowship in Genetics from the Eli Lilly Company. At the Institute he worked with Drs. George Beadle and Herschell Mitchell. The following year he was awarded a USPHS Postdoctoral Fellowship at the California Institute of Technology. With the outbreak of the Korean War Dr. Haas was recalled to active military duty. As a result he had to decline the fellowship.
Upon his return to Texas, Dr. Wilson Stone arranged for him an indefinite delay in the re-activation orders. He also made it possible for Dr. Haas to work as a research scientist for the Atomic Energy Commission. He conducted his research on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin and the Old Baker Estate in Houston (M.D. Anderson Hospital). Professor Stone and Dr. Haas worked closely until March of 1953.
The Bristol Laboratories Inc. of Syracuse, New York offered him the position of Senior Microbiologist. In his three years (1953-1956) with Bristol Laboratories he directed research on: improving by genetic mutations mold strains (Penicillium) used for the commercial production of penicillin; developing the Actinomycete strains which led to the production of tetracycline by fermentation (this production method and strain are currently responsible for the largest part of the world's supply of tetracycline). Dr. Haas also taught graduate students at the University of Syracuse. As an Associate Professor of Genetics he taught Genetics and Radiation Biology.
Dr. and Mrs. Haas and their three young sons left Syracuse, New York in May of 1956 and returned to Houston. The M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute appointed him head of the Department of Biology (1956-1975). His responsibilities included recruitment of faculty, formulating research and teaching policies, long-range planning and investigating funding sources.
From 1973 to 1975 Dr. Haas also served as Assistant to the Director of Research at M.D. Anderson Hospital.
Dr. Haas resigned as head of the Department of Biology in 1975 to assume the full duties of coordinating the research program of the hospital. He supervised and directed the Office of Research and served as advisor to the director and president on all matters concerning research at M.D. Anderson Hospital. In 1979 he accepted the position of staff assistant to the president.
On approval of the Board of Regents, the request for establishment of the UT GSBS was presented to the Texas Legislature, and was passed in Spring 1963. Governor John Connally signed the bill into law on June 10, 1963. By action of the Board of Regents the authorized school was established on September 28,1963.
Dr. Haas was a key figure in the founding of UT GSBS at Houston. He served as an important member of many special and standing GSBS Committees.
Between UT SCC, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute and UT GSBS at Houston Dr. Haas was an active member of nearly twenty committees. They include: Education; Curriculum; Committee on Graduate Studies; Dean's Administrative Committee; Faculty Classification Committee. Virtually, every year since 1949, Dr. Haas has been a principal participant in national and international symposia and conferences. He has written forty three articles and nineteen abstracts. Dr. Haas lists memberships in the following professional and scientific societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Microbiology, Genetics Society of America, American Academy of Microbiology, American Institute of Biological Sciences, Radiation Research Society, American Association for Cancer Research, American Genetic Association. He has been honored by Phi Theta Kappa, Sigma Xi, listed in Who's Who in the South and Southwest and American Men of Science.
Dr. Felix L. Haas' leadership, knowledge and skill were essential to the success of established and new programs organized by UT SCC, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute and UT GSBS at Houston. Dr. Haas retired in 1981 to enjoy his love of art, music, and spend time with his wife, Cathryn and their three sons, Michael, Stephen and Larry.

Brunet, Lesley W.

  • Person

Director of Archives, Hermann Hospital, Texas Medical Center, March 1993 - February 1999.

Assistant Library Director, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 2000 - 2009.
Assistant Director of Research Medical Library; manager of archives and special collections unit.

The Doctors' Club

  • Person
  • 1954-2005

The Doctors' Club began in 1954 as a social club for doctors and dentists and their families at The Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. The Doctor's Club also hosted medical lectures and various medical groups. The Doctor's Club closed in 2005.

Shelton, Elvin L.

  • Person
  • 1914-1991

Elvin Lee Shelton, Jr., was born November 3, 1914 in Alvarado, Texas. He earned his BS from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1936 and his MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1939. After his residency at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Shelton served thirty-six months overseas in the Army. e came to Houston in 1948 and served on the staff of St. Luke’s, Bellaire, Twelve Oaks, Methodist, and other hospitals. He also taught at both Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical School until his retirement in 1987. Dr. Shelton died July 19, 1991, at St. Luke’s Hospital.

Lensky, Paul

  • Person
  • 1923-1990

Dr. Paul Lenksy was a pediatrician practicing in Houston, Texas.

Lensky was born in Galveston on November 16, 1923. He attended the University of Texas in Austin and graduated from the University’s medical school in Galveston in March 1946.

Following graduation, he interned at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, New York. In 1947-1948 he was a staff physician in pediatrics at Jefferson Davis Hospital in Houston. The photographs in MS 236 Paul Lensky, MD Photograph Collection date from that time.

His next move was a one-year residency at Louisville General Hospital. He returned to Houston in July 1949 and took up a residency in pediatrics at Hermann Hospital. He was later on the staff at Texas Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Lensky married Eleanor Ruth Waldman on April 12, 1959 at Temple Emanu El in Houston. The couple had a son, Mark, born May 13, 1960.

Dr. Lensky was a veteran of the US Army Medical Corp., a member of Harris County Medical Society, the Texas Pediatrics Society, and the Houston Pediatrics Society. He was a member of Congregation Beth Israel and Congregation Emanu El, as well as the Westwood Country Club, and served as Secretary of B’Nai B’Rith in Houston.

Dr. Lensky died May 23, 1990.

Weinberg, Armin

  • Person

Dr. Weinberg is a Clinical Professor at Baylor College of Medicine (Medicine), Adjunct Professor at Rice University (Kinesiology & Human Performance) and Faculty Affiliate of the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging (CPHA).
He began his career at Baylor College of Medicine in 1975 as Director of the Education Division of the first National Cardiovascular Research and Demonstration Center funded by NHLBI and from 1987 until 2011 headed the Chronic Disease Research Center. By broadening his work to include other chronic diseases including cancer he focused on translating discoveries in prevention, screening, and control activities to state and national initiatives exemplified by his role as the Co-founder of the Intercultural Cancer Council.
He was a founder of the International Consortium for Research on the Health Effects of Radiation, in response to the Chernobyl nuclear accident and has spearheaded international partnerships in the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Israel. Dr. Weinberg and the late William “Jack” Schull, Professor Emeritus of Human Genetics at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, collaborated to establish a new family of collections under the umbrella of “Radiation Effects and Events.” This new collecting area at the John P. McGovern Historical Center at The TMC Library, is building on the “Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission” collections and will encompass other areas where ionized radiation has affected our world.
As Principal Investigator of the Eliminating Disparities in Clinical Trials Project (EDICT), he led a research study designed to address the problems and find workable solutions to recruiting and retaining populations that are underrepresented in clinical trials. After retiring as a Full Professor at Baylor College of Medicine he served as the CEO of Life Beyond Cancer Foundation from 2011-2015 where he lead the development of MyHealthFinder ™ now housed at Texas A&M’s School of Public Health.
Examples of other research studies that Dr. Weinberg has been involved with as a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator are, “Gulf Coast Transdisciplinary Research Recover Center for Community Health”, “National DES Education Project”, “Low-Fat Diet and Prostate Cancer,” “Low-Fat Diet and Breast Cancer”, “Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Prostate Cancer”, “Cancer Genetics-Physician & Patient Issues Related to Inherited Cancers”,”Stability of Cholesterol Levels Over Time Among Children” and “Cardiovascular Family Risk is Modifiable: A Multiple Community Study”
Dr. Weinberg currently serves as a board member of the Intercultural Cancer Council, Community of Practice (CoP) for Vulnerable Populations for National Center for Medical Education Development & Research,The Schull Institute Advisory Board, National Hispanic Life Sciences Society, Texas Life Science Foundation, member of the Comprehensive Cancer Control National Partnership, the Texas Medical Association Subcommittee on CME Accreditation and The TMC Library Archives Committee.
Journal editorial and review activities include Frontiers Public Health, Journal of Cancer Education, Cancer Management and Research, Journal of Medical Internet Research, PLOS ONE, American Journal of Preventive Medicine and the Patient Advisory Board, Patient Resource Cancer Guide. Dr. Weinberg also continues to serve on grant review committees including those for the National Institutes of Health and occasionally the California Breast Cancer Research Program.
He was a founding member of the board of C-Change: Collaborating to Conquer Cancer and inaugural recipient of The George & Barbara Bush Collaboration Award. Examples of other recognition include the Past board and leadership experience include The National Association of Social Worker Foundation, Life Beyond Cancer Foundation, Advisory Board of Molecular Health, USA, The Texas Hadassah Medical Research Foundation, Volunteer Houston, UTMB School of Allied Health Sciences Advisory Council, Cancer Support Community M.A.P. Project Advisory Council, Redes En Accion National Center Steering Committee and the Cancer Alliance of Texas.
Awards in recognition of his interest in and achieving impact in the community include the American Cancer Society - Humanitarian Award, the American Jewish Committee: Academicians Award, National Patient Advocate Foundation - National Health Care Hero Award, State of Israel Bonds: Maimonides Award, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Jill Ireland Award behalf of the ICC, Texas Cancer Council: Gib Lewis Award for Public Education, Texas School Health Association Distinguished Service Award and Volunteer Houston’s Lifetime Member Award.

[Source: Armin Weinberg]