History of the J.E. Wallace Sterling “Muleshoe” Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award
On November 9, 1959, as Stanford University President Wallace Sterling was walking across an open field to the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the future medical school, he stumbled on an old horseshoe and took it with him as a good luck omen.
Years later Dr. Gunther W. Nagel spotted the horseshoe in an administrator’s office. Acting on a belief that the School of Medicine should honor distinguished alumni, Dr. Nagel proposed to the dean that the horseshoe symbolize that honor. He took the shoe to an expert who explained it was actually a muleshoe and may have been lost during the Portola Expedition.
The award is presented annually to an individual in recognition of his or her exceptional lifetime achievements either academic or non-academic who graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine thirty or more years ago at the time of selection. Alumni may make suggestions to the Board of Governors for those they would like to see nominated, however final selection rests with the board of Governors.
In 1983 the SMAA Board conferred the first J.E. Wallace Sterling “Muleshoe” Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award. A plaque honoring the annual recipients is enshrined with the famous "muleshoe" at the Medical School with a replica going to the honoree.
For those who questioned the propriety of awarding a muleshoe rather than a horseshoe, Dr. Nagel was quick to point out that a mule is smarter and more reliable than a horse and has a lot more kick.
- Excerpted from Stanford Medicine magazine
Previous Winners of the J.E. Wallace Sterling “Muleshoe” Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award
