From the classroom to the emergency room to the ballroom, Diane Luckmann, School of Medicine and Health Sciences MD '59, has always loved to learn — and been inspired to lead.

As a specialist in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, and pain management, Dr. Luckmann focused her medical career on community care. She worked with the elderly urban poor in San Francisco's Chinatown, volunteered with Mother Teresa in India, provided trauma care in Papua New Guinea, and served on the faculty of the University of Tennessee and the University of California San Francisco.

While her medical career has taken her around the world, Dr. Luckmann traces her professional accomplishments and enthusiasm for teaching back to GW, and especially to her pathology professor: "When I was a student, GW had many outstanding physicians at the medical school, and throughout my career I've tried to draw upon what I considered to be the best skills that each possessed. But my base, without question, was Dr. Frank Miller."

Dr. Luckmann admits at first she "wasn't looking forward to taking pathology, but Dr. Miller made it come alive. He cared so much about his students. We clicked because of our shared philosophy of teaching."

Dr. Luckmann decided to honor her relationship with Dr. Miller and his venerable career as a teacher, mentor, and administrator at the medical school by establishing a bequest that will support the Frank N. Miller, MD, Distinguished Teaching Professorship. With this gift in her estate, it is her hope that Dr. Miller's legacy and impact as an educator will be passed on to future generations of GW physicians.

As for Dr. Luckmann, her love of learning and teaching extends beyond medicine.

After her personal physician told her to exercise more, she took up ballroom dancing, first as a student, then as a competitor, and now, with a diploma from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, as an instructor.

Although Dr. Luckmann traded physical exams for the foxtrot and triage for tango, she has found a need for her medical background in ballroom dance: "On more than one occasion, people have fallen on the floor, and I've saved them from going to the emergency room."

Throughout her life, Dr. Luckmann has demonstrated a commitment to education and service. Now, via the Miller Distinguished Teaching Professorship and also through an endowed scholarship she established in her own name to support medical students, she is leaving a legacy at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences consistent with those core values.

"I couldn't have done any of this without GW and the strong background it provided."

Give in Their Name

Whether it's a professor or a former classmate who inspired your career, a gift to GW in their name is a meaningful way to honor their legacy and your relationship. Contact Dean Regenovich, JD, LLM at (202) 748-4532 or dean.regenovich@gwu.edu to learn more.