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T M C N E W S . O R G 20 Tale of Two Deans: A Love Story One married couple. Two prominent medical schools. I n a storyline that seems pulled from the TV script of a Shonda Rhimes medical drama, two budding young doctors fell in love and, over time, became deans of two top medical schools. As far as they know, Paul Klotman, M.D., president and executive dean of Baylor College of Medicine, and Mary Klotman, M.D., dean and vice chancellor of Duke University School of Medicine, are the only married couple in the United States to run two separate medical schools. The Klotmans have not only chosen to share their lives, but have been collaborating as scientists for 25 years, as well. They met in Durham, North Carolina, at Duke University School of Medicine. "We met during training in internal medicine," said Mary, who was seated on a leather sofa in the couple's Museum District-area condominium in Houston on a recent Saturday. "Paul was my chief resident and I was an intern. … We fell madly in love and got engaged within four months and married within the year." They were married in Duke University Chapel on Nov. 28, 1981. "Mary is Catholic and I'm Jewish. The rabbis wouldn't do it, the priests wouldn't do it, so we were married by a female Unitarian minister in a non-denominational chapel," said Paul, who was seated on the sofa next to his wife. "There was this Jewish guy who converted to being Catholic, so we got him to come to give the blessing. All of the Catholics, of course, recognized his Jesuit robes and said, 'It's so wonderful having a priest here.' All of the Jews go by and say, 'It's so wonderful having a Rabbi here. '" Paul mostly planned the reception. At the time, Paul was preparing to follow in his parents' footsteps as an academic leader. His mother, Phyllis Klotman, was the dean for women's affairs at Indiana University. His father, Robert Klotman, was chair of the department of music education at Indiana University. "I knew I was going to be a chairman of some- thing, but I didn't necessarily think I was going to be a dean or a president," Paul said. "I saw the career ladder my parents were on and I always assumed that, eventually, I would be there, too." Mary Klotman, on the other hand, wasn't sure if her future was in academia. Once she realized that she wanted to pursue a career in academic medicine, she knew she needed a focus—an area of expertise to help her stand out from the rest of the crowd. She found one at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington, D.C. "The HIV epidemic was exploding," Mary recalled. "It was very exciting because I trained in infectious disease, so I saw the first cases of HIV at Duke and then I went into the top lab in the world for HIV research, where the virus was discovered. New drugs were being developed and you could really see it in action." ® B y B r i t n i R . M c A s h a n Above: Paul and Mary Klotman photographed on their wedding day in 1981 at the Duke University Chapel. Facing: The Klotmans relax in their Houston, Texas home.