S. Edward Sulkin Endowments

– S. Edward Sulkin Visiting Professorship
– S. Edward Sulkin Memorial Scholorship for Graduate Students
– The Lorraine Sulkin Schein Distinguished Professorship in Microbial Pathogenesis
– Special Acknowledgment to Mrs. Lorraine Sulkin Schein

Dr. S. Edward Sulkin

Dr. S. Edward Sulkin was the second, but first major, Chairperson of the Department of Microbiology at U.T. Southwestern Medical Center (1945 to 1972). Dr. Sulkin was one of those early "microbe hunters" during the "Golden Age of Microbiology." Dr. Sulkin had interests in a number of the subdisciplines of Microbiology, including diagnostic bacteriology and laboratory safety, but was most noted for his pioneering studies on the natural history of rabies virus infection. Dr. Sulkin first established that bats were a principal reservoir for the rabies virus and he performed novel studies to explain the association and persistence of the rabies virus in bats. Since Dr. Sulkin's passing, his widow, Ms. Lorraine Sulkin Schein (in consultation with the faculty) established three separate endowments honoring the visionary work, standard of scientific excellence, and memory of Dr. Ed Sulkin.

S. Edward Sulkin Visiting Professorship

In 1989, Lorraine Sulkin Schein generously endowed the S. Edward Sulkin Visiting Professorship to allow the Microbiology department to host annually a scientist of the highest calibre working in a subdiscipline of Microbiology. As such, the Sulkin Visiting Professorship each year marks a major event for the Department and for our Institution, and constitutes a wonderful legacy that we know would please Ed Sulkin immensely.

Our past Sulkin Distinguished Visiting Professors have been:
1990 - Phillip A. Sharp
1992 - Stanley Falkow
1993 - David Baltimore
1995 - William E. Paul
1998 - Anthony S. Fauci
1999 - Peter C. Doherty
2000 - Elliott Kieff
2001 - Thomas E. Shenk
2002 - Arnold J. Levine
2003 - J. Michael Bishop
2004 - Bernard Roizman
2005 - Francis V. Chisari
2006-  Charles Rice
2007-  Robert C. Gallo
2008-  Stephen P. Goff
2009-  Paul Ahlquist

S. Edward Sulkin Memorial Scholorship for Graduate Students

Shortly after the death of Dr. Sulkin, former Chairman of the Department, Dr. Richard Finkelstein solicited support from his friends, colleagues and Sulkin family members to establish a Memorial Scholarship Fund in Dr. Sulkin’s name for the purpose of helping deserving graduate students. The Fund is held by the Southwestern Medical Foundation, and the income from the Fund in used to provide an annual scholarship.

Purpose. In consultation with Mrs. S. Edward Sulkin (Schein), the Fund was established for the purpose of providing a competitive scholarship(s) annually for a graduate student(s) in the area of Microbiology (basic, medical and virology) enrolled at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Criteria for the awarding of the scholarship(s) include 1) demonstrated potential for a professional career in the subdisciplines of virology, general microbiology, or medical microbiology, and 2) the award will benefit the student’s educational program by encouraging participation in meetings or extramural courses or workshops.

• Eligibility. Entering or currently enrolled full-time students whose major area of concentration is general microbiology, medical microbiology, or virology.
• Term of Award. Scholarships are awarded for one academic year, effective the registration date of the Fall Semester.
• Publicity. Entering students are notified at the time of their interview of the availability of scholarships, and when funding is available, the students are notified by mail to apply.
• Administration. The Committee on Stipends and Standing of the Molecular Microbiology Graduate Program shall receive from the Program Chair the scholarship applications together with the applicants’ files, and shall make recommendations for awards consistent with the stated purposes.

The Lorraine Sulkin Schein Distinguished Professorship in Microbial Pathogenesis

As printed in the Center Times, October 2000:
By Rachel Skei Donihoo

Longtime supporter of the Department of Microbiology at UT Southwestern, Lorraine Sulkin Schein has pledged $250,000 to establish a professorship in microbial pathogenesis. The professorship was inspired by her late husband, Dr. S. Edward Sulkin, an accomplished virologist who served as the chairman of microbiology from 1945 to 1972.

The gift, held in a charitable remainder trust at Southwestern Medical Foundation, will establish the Lorraine Sulkin Schein Distinguished Professorship in Microbial Pathogenesis. It will support research in virology, bacteriology, parasitology and mycology.

"This professorship represents yet another example of Lorraine Sulkin Schein’s generosity and unwavering dedication to UT Southwestern’s Department of Microbiology — a devotion that has spanned more than half a century," said Dr. Michael Norgard, chairman of microbiology and holder of the Roy and Christine Sturgis Chair in Biomedical Research. "In memory of Dr. Sulkin, who set a standard of excellence for the microbiology department long ago, Mrs. Schein has remained our loyal supporter."

In 1976 Mrs. Schein helped create the S. Edward Sulkin Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarship awards to exceptional microbiology graduate students. The campaign to establish the fund was initiated by the Department of Microbiology in honor of Dr. Sulkin. In 1988 she established the S. Edward Sulkin Visiting Professorship in Microbiology.

Mrs. Schein’s latest contribution was made in the form of a charitable remainder trust, which pays income to the donor for life or a term of years and ultimately distributes the principal to the charity selected by the donor. In addition to income, the charitable remainder trust provides capital-gains and estate-tax savings to the donor.

"Gifts such as this one from Mrs. Schein are particularly valuable to the medical school — and the medical community as a whole — because they provide fertile soil for important medical research programs," said W. Plack Carr Jr., Southwestern Medical Foundation president. "It’s very exciting when donors look to the future and decide to include gifts that benefit UT Southwestern in their financial plans. Planned gifts allow us to seek out new directions in medicine and help us plan for our future as a world-class medical center."

Dr. Kern Wildenthal, president of UT Southwestern, said, "Lorraine Schein’s steadfast commitment to UT Southwestern’s efforts in the field of microbiology is admirable. Her gifts will serve as reminders not only of her own generosity but also of Dr. Sulkin’s immeasurable personal and professional contributions to the medical center."