Ruth Paulson: A Pioneer for Women in Dentistry
In her 93 years, Professor Emerita Ruth Paulson has seen the winds of change shift demographics in the dental profession. Her father was a medical doctor, a career dominated by men in 1940s Latvia, her home country. Her mother was a dentist, which was considered a profession for women there. Dr. Paulson (Ruth) was fourteen when the family fled the country as Russia invaded Latvia in 1944. They spent the next six years in Germany in several camps for “displaced persons,” where Ruth finished high school. In 1950, the family was able to acquire a U.S. sponsor—the superintendent of Dorothea Dix Hospital, the state mental hospital—and emigrated to Raleigh, NC, where her father was offered a position as a physician at the same hospital. Ruth’s mother was prevented from practicing in North Carolina—even with a degree in dentistry from the University of Latvia—because the state required a degree from an accredited U.S. institution. When Ruth enrolled in dental school after earning a B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she was the only woman in her class of 50.
She met her future husband, the late George Paulson, MD, professor emeritus in Ohio State’s College of Medicine, when both took summer jobs in occupational therapy at the state hospital in Raleigh. After graduation in 1956, her early career was curtailed by their many professional moves and their growing family, which eventually numbered five children. When the family moved back to North Carolina, she took part-time positions with the Durham Health Department, and later at Raleigh’s school for the deaf and blind.
In 1967, her husband’s job in Ohio State’s neurology department brought the Paulsons to Columbus. Three years later, Ruth was offered a part-time position in the Division of Oral Biology (now the Division of Biosciences) as an instructor. Over time, her hours increased to full-time, and she remained in the division for 25 years. She retired in 1996 as an associate professor. Her research areas were teratology and scanning electron microscopy studies of tooth structures.
She was involved in extensive interdisciplinary collaborative work with other departments.
During her years in teaching and research, she saw increasing numbers of women enter the profession. “When I started in 1970, I was the second woman dentist on the faculty, and there were no women students in my classes. The next year, there was one student and two the following year. But the numbers grew exponentially after that,
as political movements in the U.S. freed women to look into new options.”
She said that mentoring students was one of the best things she did during her career. She admired the late Dr. Nancy Reynolds-Goorey, an assistant dean of the college, who led the dental hygiene program. “Mentorship and role models are important,” she said. “It’s important for a woman to see someone and think, ‘I can do this.’ Young women found themselves in a sea of men, and they needed to feel that they belonged.” To help empower her students, she held informal get-togethers at her home and brought in women dentists to talk about how to balance careers and family life.
Some of her students took three-month summer research fellowships. Dr. Paulson encouraged them to submit abstracts for presentation at student research meetings. Those accepted would be sent to the annual meeting of the American Association of Dental Research, and students could list it on their vita.
Dr. Paulson thinks dentistry is a perfect field for women. “It combines science, art and manual skills, and it has the possibility of schedule flexibility.” She believes women in the field are reaching parity and beyond. “We even have a woman dean of the college.”
In retirement, Dr. Paulson took up quilting. She is an avid reader and has volunteered for years at Ohio State University Hospital’s Center for Health Information. Most of all, she enjoys spending time with her family, including her twelve grandchildren. They couldn’t ask for a more inspiring role model.