By Donald F. Smith
Posted Sept 30, 2014
In a
previous blog, I described how the art form and interpretation of the Bach
fugue by 20th century pianist, Glenn Gould, shaped the fluency of my
operative technique during my early career a large animal surgeon.[1] While
serving as veterinary dean at Cornell later in my career, I adopted the fugal form
as the defining organizational structure for chairs of our academic departments,
referring to it as contrapuntal
management.[2]
Though Gould
died three decades ago, the impact of his interpretation of Bach had a profound
impact on me as a surgeon and administrator. That influence continues even now
in my return to the classroom as a teacher working in small tutorial groups.
Three weeks
ago, while waiting at the gate at O’Hare for a flight to Des Moines, I had a
chance encounter with another person who has had a major influence on my work.
George Will, the Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist, author and political philosopher
was awaiting the same flight. Though I am not one to engage luminaries just
because they occupy the same air space, my reaction to seeing Will was spontaneous
and immediate: I wanted to meet him.
Photo by the author, 2014
I have been
reading assiduously Will’s works for years. What I consider to be a scholarly
approach to articulating his views on the political, social and cultural news
of the day is what initially drew me to him. The form of his arguments, while
concise and clear in their own right, are also draped in a multi-colored fabric
of words complex enough to command attention.
During the
1980s, I became so fond of his work that I even held a subscription to Newsweek just to have access to his
biweekly columns. More recently, I read his column in the Washington Post and watch him as regularly as I am able, alongside
Mara Liasson, Charles Krauthammer and others, on Special Report w/ Bret Baier.[3]
During the
last couple of years, the columns I share in this blog and my occasionally-invited
lectures have become more firmly rooted in the historic underpinnings of
veterinary medicine and One Health. And
whether it’s by deliberate design or simply by osmosis from people I admire, I
have occasionally found myself using the format so often evident in Will’s
columns or commentary, in which he frequently presents his thesis in an
historical context.
In this age
where the prominence of mentor-guided development is considered a sine qua non for professional
advancement, it begs the question: can we be mentored by someone whom we have
never encountered personally, nor only met in passing? More on that in a future column.
As I
approached George Will that recent afternoon in Chicago, I just wanted to tell
him, “I’m a fan.” I didn’t expect him,
busily engaged in multiple telephone conversations, to take more than a passing
interest in me.
Instead, he
gave me an uninterrupted window of his time, and for a few precious moments, I
felt genuinely in his sphere. He thanked me graciously, and after inquiring whom
I was, shared with me his own substantive connection to Cornell that dated to
his childhood.
That was it!
George Will continued with his calls and his reading, but I shall always
remember the kindness afforded to me in this brief, but prodigious encounter.
And it will make me a more committed mentor in my own sphere of influence.
In my
presentation on mentoring the following afternoon to veterinary students at
Iowa State University, we discussed how to identify and reach out to mentors. Can
a student engage a busy veterinary expert either at her home institution, or in
another city or state?
Yes they can! Accomplished veterinarians from all sectors
of the profession often feel it not simply their duty, but also their privilege
to engage students in sharing their life experiences. Whether it’s third-year
Cornell student Becky Donnelly meeting Dr. Valerie Ragan,[4]
the director for the Center of Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine at Virginia-Maryland
CVM, or second-year student Aziza Glass interviewing four-times-in-space
veterinarian Rick Linnehan by cell phone,[5]
mentors are far more accessible than many students realize. Sometimes all we
have to do is be confident, assertive, and accept that we may be pleasantly surprised.
Surprised, even
changed, sometimes for life.
[1] Smith, Donald F. Learning Surgery from a Classical Pianist.
Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, Feb 27, 2014.
[2] Smith, Donald F. What Glenn Gould Taught me about Leadership.
Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, April 18, 2014
[3] http://www.foxnews.com/
[4] Donnelly, Rebecca, Class Assignment with Impact: An Interview
with Valerie Ragan. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, May 28, 2014
[5] Glass, Aziza, A Veterinary Student Interviews a Veterinary
Astronaut. Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, April 28, 2014