I AM UAA: Dr. Norman J. Wilder

M.B.A. '02
Hometown: Corvallis, OR, and Anchorage, AK
Fun Fact: Speaks English, Italian, Spanish and German

To talk to Dr. Norman Wilder is to be regaled with stories of studying abroad in Italy as an undergraduate at Oregon State University, getting pulled over for speeding in Chile (and getting off the hook by pretending to not understand Spanish) and practicing internal medicine for more than 40 years.

A medical school graduate of Oregon Health & Science University and University of California-Davis, Dr. Wilder came to Alaska with the Air Force in 1973 and spent two years in Fairbanks. After specializing in pulmonary disease and critical care at Washington University in St. Louis, he scratched the itch to come back to Alaska in 1977, for his final two years with the Air Force at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. By 1979, he left the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Medicine to go into private practice in Anchorage.

Throughout his medical career, Dr. Wilder built upon his pulmonary specialty with a sleep medicine specialty and an M.B.A. from UAA. Among his cadre of titles within the medical field (Master, American College of Physicians; Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Certified Physician Executive) and UAA (current member of the UAA Alumni Association Board of Directors, Chancellor's Advisory Board, WWAMI Community Advisory Board and Affiliate Professor in the WWAMI Biomedical Program), perhaps his most complimentary title was given to him on a past trip to Italy, when he was called mosca bianca, or "white fly." The moniker came when he was speaking fluent Italian to a group of friends in Italy, and they were impressed that an American was speaking their language so well-a sight as rare as a white fly.

Another title he recently held was for UAA's medical program as the Anchorage Site Coordinator for WWAMI's third-year Internal Medicine Clerkship. Dr. Wilder was asked to start the program in 2004, and his task was to organize a group of preceptors to teach eight students every year during their clinical rotations. His WWAMI role was leveraged by his position as the first Chief Medical Officer at Alaska Regional Hospital, a position he held for eight years.

With his recent retirement from Alaska Regional Hospital in December 2010, Dr. Wilder is passing his duties as the preceptor coordinator to Dr. Emily Church, but he speaks of his time with WWAMI with great fondness.

"I enjoyed taking on the challenge of creating a new clerkship, doing a good job for the students and getting the job done for the good of the group," he says. "But I think it's important with any major position of leadership that every so often the position  turns over.  You work to make an impact and then you make room for fresh ideas to 'kick it up a notch,' as Emeril would say."

Honored with a Teaching Award from WWAMI students in 2005, among other professional accolades, Dr. Wilder covets the positive feedback from those he taught. As preceptor coordinator he arranged their clinical assignments, ran their orientations and planned Friday activities to augment their learning when the students were not in the clinic or hospital.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Dr. Wilder's personal mission statement is "Live life to its fullest, and when you come to a fork in the road, take it." Though he has two caveats to which fork: "Follow your passions (not necessarily where the money is)," he says, "and never look back...have confidence in your choices."

Taking his own advice, Dr. Wilder continues to pursue his passions as he eases into retirement with four grandkids. His wife of 43 years, Kathy, who was his high school sweetheart and a former UAA employee, shares with him his joys of languages, travel, outdoor activities and fine wine.