July 7, 1914 - April 27, 1994
Dr. Bruesch was born July 7, 1914 in Norman, Oklahoma. He received his A.B. degree in 1935 from LaVerne College in LaVerne, California. Later, his college would award him its Alumnus of the Year in 1967 and an honorary D.Sc. degree in 1968. His interest in medicine began to develop during his junior year in college with a required biology course. The main stimulus arose from his strong, positive impressions derived from a textbook on embryology, written by Leslie Arey of Northwestern University. He vowed to study under Arey and applied only to Northwestern Medical School.
It was in the Spring of his second year that Simon Bruesch approached Dr. Arey with a request to do graduate work. By the mechanism of a combined medical/basic science educational program, he was able to earn an M.D. in 1941. He served a mixed internship (1940-41) at the Passavant Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Dr. Bruesch's preference for an academic career over a clinical career is best stated in his own words: "If I hadn't come to U.T., I probably would have done a residency. However, I was very attracted to an academic career. I was enormously curious and eager to learn, and I still am. To satisfy this curiosity, one needs some leisure time to read and contemplate, to think about what one's learning means in a greater sense. It's important for individuals to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are and to find a career to stress their strengths."
When Dr. Bruesch joined the U.T. College of Medicine faculty in September of 1941, there was already a beginning manpower shortage due to the possibility of war, and these shortages became greater with the wartime years. Thus, he had patient care duties to keep him busy, as well as his teaching responsibilities. His belief remains very strong that the University faculty have not only the responsibility to strive for excellence in teaching, but also to strive for excellence in scholarship. In addition to his own outstanding credentials as a nationally recognized anatomist, Dr. Bruesch is the authority on medical history in Memphis, in Tennessee, and in the South. His own excellent library is a treasure house of historical information on the healing arts' professions. He wrote 13 of the 45 chapters in the History of Medicine in Memphis. Simon Bruesch was the major historical source and advisor for the Health Sciences Museum Foundation of the Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society Auxiliary in its commendable effort in establishing the Health Sciences Exhibit at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum. He also wrote the Foreword for their publication regarding this exhibit, From Saddlebags to Science: A Century of Health Care in Memphis 1830-1930.
His honors at U.T. Memphis include: the first Goodman Professor at U.T. in 1961; the Golden Apple Award, given him by the U.T. Chapter of the Student Medical Association in 1968-1969; establishment of the S.R. Bruesch Library Endowment Fund -- a gift by the 1967 U.T. College of Medicine Graduating Class; the University of Tennessee Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award in 1975; and the Faculty Recognition Award in the Basic Sciences, according him by the Graduating Medical Class of June, 1976, December, 1976, and June 1979. He has authored 37 papers, dealing with both scientific and historical subjects.
The greatest honor accorded to Dr. Bruesch by his former University students and friends was the Simon Rulin Bruesch Alumni Professorship in Anatomy, established with gifts totaling more than $1,000,000. It was the first endowed Alumni Professorship created in the U.T. College of Medicine. Dean Robert L. Summitt stated, "Never before in the history of the College of Medicine have alumni responded so generously to such urgent need." In making this announcement to the 1982 graduating classes, Chancellor James C. Hunt described Dr. Bruesch thusly -- "Dr. Bruesch is a most admired and revered member of the faculty. Throughout his tenure, he had exhibited all of those characteristics which the University would anticipate from the holder of an Academic Chair -- the highest level of scholarly achievement, noteworthy contributions to the ongoing dialogue of his discipline, and significant influence on his colleagues." On the plaque, which commemorates the Simon Rulin Bruesch Alumni Professorship in Anatomy, and which has been placed in the Student-Alumni Center, Dr. Bruesch responded, "Recognition of one's efforts, when unsought, is doubly pleasing. But my greatest reward is the memory of the eagerness to learn and the positive responsiveness of my many talented students over these 41 years.
Although Dr. Bruesch conceded that it was a great honor to have the first Alumni Professorship named for him, his philosophy in regard to his students and as an educator is best summarized as follows:
I'm not a possessive person. I may be close to my students during the period they're in school, but I don't expect ever to see them again or hear from them. If I do, that's great, but it's not something that I expect. The reward for my efforts was having for that particular time, that association with them from which I gained something, and they gained something. That, I can remember with great pleasure and satisfaction. I feel that if they wish in any way to manifest any appreciation for what they've gained in medical school, the best way is to serve in some way themselves. I feel every time a former student of mine has done something of excellence to serve, in a way, I'm participating. I do make a serious effort to follow their career choices and professional successes. The most important thing for my students is for them to do well in their field. This is also the hardest thing that I could ask of them.
Dr. Bruesch died on April 27, 1994.
(Hamner, James Edward III. The University of Tennessee, Memphis 75th Anniversary -- Medical Accomplishments. Memphis: University of Tennessee Memphis, 1986.)