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Heart of a Lion: Dr. Julia Saluke & Dr. Ann Saluke
HEART OF A LION: DR. JULIA SALUKE & DR. ANN SALUKE
By Richelle Thompson
Four days a week, Dr. Julia Saluke ’87 treats patients in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. On the fifth day, she starts her day with a trip to a grocery store to pick up leftover bread and deliver the bounty to a low-income health clinic.
For years, Dr. Ann Saluke ’76 was a partner in a Cincinnati-area pediatric practice, but also donated her time to work with a child abuse team and traveled each month to volunteer at a rural clinic in southern Ohio.
The two sisters have much in common: a desire to serve, a keen intellect, and a commitment to lifelong learning. Although growing up in a family of 12 in Dayton, Ohio, planted the seeds for these values, the women refined them as students at the Mount.
Both sisters graduated from the Mount and continued on to medical school, and a lifetime of service as doctors. Ann met with patients, taught residents, and served as president of the Cincinnati Pediatric Society and chair of the pediatrics section at Mercy Hospital Anderson. Retiring from practice in 2013, Ann worked with Cincinnati Public Schools for three more years, conducting behavioral and mental health assessments of students. She joined the Mount’s Board of Trustees in 2018, and continues to serve.
Julia graduated from the Mount and attended medical school at Wright State University. Her first job after training was on Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks, where a helicopter served as an ambulance to the nearest emergency room. Today, Julia works in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, primarily attending to geriatric patients.
Gene Kritsky, Ph.D., professor emeritus, knows both women. In fact, his first year of teaching at the University, 40 years ago, was Julia’s freshman year.
“Julia was always incredibly kind and showed a strong sense of caring,” Kritsky says. “I knew she would be quite an inspiration to her patients. The dedication both Ann and Julia have for being mentors for others and being there for their patients reflects not only their character but also the Mount’s. They represent who we are as an institution: caring, kind, but also rigorous in our academic pursuits.”
Ann was the first to discover the Mount. She attended a college night near her home in Dayton, and picked up an MSJ brochure. Looking for a small liberal arts college, Ann says she was intrigued, so she applied and received a Seton Scholar Award for full tuition. She planned to follow in the footsteps of her parents—her mom was a nurse, and her father worked in chemical research—but it wasn’t until a Mount graduate returned to speak to students about medical school that she considered becoming a doctor.
“I always felt so supported by the Mount faculty and staff in whatever I wanted to do,” Ann says. “Honestly, though, I think they saw more in me initially than I saw in myself.”
Ann changed her major to chemistry at the Mount and went on to attend the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. After residency, she became the first woman to join the Anderson Hills Pediatrics practice. Over the years, Ann returned the favor that first medical student offered to her; she has served as a mentor and speaker at the Mount for various campus groups, including a program for women in science.
“I always took very seriously the fact that the door was opening for women” in fields previously dominated by men, Ann says. “I knew I had to do a very good job; otherwise, they might shut the door. I worked hard to give my best to families who entrusted me with the care of their children.”
One of those watching was Ann’s younger sister, Julia. Ann invited Julia to the Mount for a Little Siblings’ weekend, and Julia fell in love. Like Ann, Julia wanted a college that offered smaller classes and close interaction with professors. The Mount delivered, Julia says, recalling a time when a friend had a sore throat and missed a class, and the professor called to see how she was feeling.
The Sisters of Charity “provided such a great witness of service,” says Julia, who also was awarded a Seton Scholar Award. “They also modeled that you could study science and continue to follow in your faith.”
One of Ann’s biggest takeaways from her time at the Mount, is how the school encouraged women to be leaders. She attended before the campus was co-ed, so “when they wanted leaders, it was women stepping forward,” Ann says. “I took that sense of empowerment with me in my profession. There was never a thought, ‘Oh, we need to wait for a guy to step up.’ We were encouraged and challenged to be our best selves and to give to our communities in whatever we decided to do with our lives.”
The Mount inspired Ann and Julia to serve with the hearts of a lion, and model leadership for future generations of women.
