Profiles

Causey

Groblewski

Miller

Minno

Paul

Rike

Watson

Paul Rike (MED '38) and Hazel Rike

Paul Rike has always remained close to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine—literally and figuratively. He and his wife, Hazel, have spent the better part of their lives living at the corner of Fifth and Craig Streets a few blocks from the campus. And together, they've made it a point to keep the University close to their hearts.

The two met not far from the university at Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Bloomfield. Paul was interning at the hospital where Hazel worked as a nurse. They married, and Paul spent most of his career in internal medicine and cardiology at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. He also taught at the School of Medicine.

To this day, he attends 8 a.m. Grand Rounds every Friday morning. "I like to see what's going on, what's new," he said.

The most rewarding part of his involvement, he said, is interaction with the medical students who benefit from the Paul M. Rike, MD, and Hazel M. Rike Medical Scholarship, which the Rikes supported through a $1.5 million gift to the School of Medicine. "They're very nice students, I've enjoyed them all," he said. They meet regularly with scholarship recipients and, therefore, realize how critical their gift is in offsetting the rising cost of medical school.

"I think Pitt is doing a very good job of educating students," Paul said. "I thought we should help them. It's a worthwhile thing."

Things were different when Paul attended Pitt in the mid-1930s. Tuition was less, classes were smaller, and faculty members were volunteers. And although times have changed, he and his classmates still enjoy getting together on campus every year.