Ask any patient to describe the bedside manner of doctor and Cyclone alumna Beverley Waddleton** (‘74 zoology), and you’ll hear these words: caring, devoted, and skilled.
Those are characteristics that Waddleton has demonstrated over the course of a celebrated and unique career. She is a physician, a teacher, and a community leader. She has broken down barriers, challenged practices in medicine, and brought many a new life into the world.
Waddleton’s track from her undergraduate adventure to the clinic was unique. After graduating from Iowa State, she took courses for a teaching certificate at the University of Texas at Dallas. After several years of teaching high school chemistry, she enrolled at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine after her former advisor, Ellis Hicks (‘38 zoology, MS ‘40, PhD ‘47), reached out to her.
“I received a Christmas card from my Iowa State advisor informing me of the new school opening,” Waddleton said. “He and I would exchange Christmas cards after I left Iowa State.”
It was at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine where Waddleton faced a new challenge. She was the first female African American to take on the school’s rigorous course load as a medical student. With determination and support from her family, Waddleton earned her degree.
It was also at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine where Waddleton found her passion for family medicine. Fresh from her graduation, Waddleton moved back to her hometown of Quitman, Texas, where she started a solo private practice lasting more than 22 years, until she started working for East Texas Medical Center (now UT Health East Texas).
When Waddleton started at UT Health, the center was not equipped to offer obstetric services. Seeing a need for change, Waddleton started the obstetrics department. This began her quest to help expand the hospital. She’ll be the first to admit, it was a huge undertaking.
“I wouldn’t do that today, but I was young and brave,” she said, reminiscing on her early days at UT Health.
In her 39 years as a family doctor in Quitman, she has delivered over 100 babies and has had the honor of watching them grow up. One of Waddleton’s favorite aspects of her job is building relationships from the first visit to years beyond.
Waddleton has been chief of staff twice during her time at UT Health. During her first tenure, she led efforts to hire emergency room physicians. The emergency room was so understaffed at the time that local physician like Waddleton had to cover the department on the weekends and return to their offices the next weekday.
“It was hard for us to work the emergency room plus our clinics,” Waddleton said. “It became physically impossible.”
In 2013, as chief of staff for the second time, Waddleton was instrumental in efforts to acquire a new hospital facility for UT Health Quitman, a much-needed advancement. The hospital facility remains a staple in the community to this day.
Within her community, Waddleton takes pride in organizing efforts to help the next generation of professionals and scholars. She and her family have provided countless scholarships to students either pursuing a college degree or seeking advancement through a higher education program. Waddleton is also a life member of the ISU Alumni Association and a proud, forever true Cyclone.
By Grace Nelsen
Story published: December 2021