Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/1208031
23 T M C P U L S E | F E B R U A R Y 2 02 0 "Schools compete with each other, so it would take two very confident presidents of universities to feel comfortable having a husband and wife team leading their institutions. … They would expect collusion." The Klotmans have different leadership styles. "My wife is a fantastic leader—just unbeliev- able—and she leads by example," Paul said. "She is constantly a cheerleader for the organization, always optimistic. And when she stands up, peo- ple just instantly admire her. … But people would rather go out and party with me. I'm much more informal. I think our principles are exactly the same and I don't think we've ever disagreed on what we are trying to accomplish—ever … but the mechanisms by which we accomplish [our goals] are night and day." As they approach their 10th year of commut- ing, the Klotmans have only missed two weekends together and seem closer than ever. "Every three months, we take out our calen- dars and talk about events at Baylor and events at Duke," Mary said. "But usually it's driven by things we should prioritize at each institution. And up until recently, we had our parents up in New York, so we would go there or to the Council of Deans." [The council convenes deans from the Association of American Medical Colleges' member medical schools to address issues related to academic medicine.] Paul believes the commute has made them value their time together even more than when they lived in the same place. "When we were together and in our other jobs, we were working through the weekends," he said. "You couldn't really tell Saturday and Sunday versus Monday. Now, I take the weekends off, especially if I'm in Durham. … Our house there is a country home. It's like a spa." Their secret to a successful marriage? Friday night dates and a willingness to be flexible. When in Houston, you might find the couple at Spanish restaurant BCN Taste & Tradition. When they're in Durham, you might find them eating seasonal American cuisine at Nana's. After all this time, they still haven't run out of things to talk about. "Medicine is so interesting right now. Every- thing is changing, so our conversations after 38 years of marriage are just as interesting as the first month we met," Mary said. "A lot of it is really thinking about health care and how do you train young physicians. … These are complex institu- tions and there is no road map going ahead. We are all changing, so I'm glad I have someone to talk to all the time about it." financially challenged by a failed attempt to start its own hospital. Overnight, the couple went from working and living together to running medical schools in dif- ferent states. In July 2017, Mary was named dean of Duke University School of Medicine. "It would be very hard for us to be deans of medical schools in the same city," Paul said.