Ask Ellsworth Bowser (A&S ’58, DEN ’60) why he enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and he will likely tell you that he never considered any other options.
Ellsworth’s father, Theodore, and uncles Joseph and Randall, all graduated from Pitt in the 1920s. Theodore and Joseph went into practice together in the Jenkins Arcade downtown (where the Highmark Building now stands) and Randall opened a more bucolic practice in East Liberty.
As a boy, Ellsworth decided he wanted some pocket money, so he announced to his family that he was going to start a paper route.
“But my dad and uncle told me I should come work for them in the lab on Saturday mornings,” Bowser said. “They said I would make more money, not have to work seven days a week, and never have to deal with rain and snow. Well, that option sure sounded good.”
In hindsight, Bowser realizes his dad wanted to introduce him to the profession and counteract some of the negative stereotypes associated with dentistry at the time.
The young Ellsworth quickly moved from working in the lab to assisting with patients. A few years later, dental degree in hand and two years of active duty as an Army dentist behind him, Bowser was a full-fledged member of the family’s practice.
“I worked with my father for 18 years until he passed away in 1980, and then my uncle and I spent another eight years together,” Bowser said. “My uncle retired at the age of 88 after 65 years as a dentist.”
By then Ellsworth’s daughter, Holly (DEN ’94), had also graduated from Pitt Dental School and had also joined the practice. The father and daughter team worked together for 12 years, until Holly moved to Denver to be closer to her husband’s family and Ellsworth retired to Florida.
Giving Back to Pitt
Throughout his career, Bowser stayed connected with his alma mater. He was president of the Dental School Alumni Association and on the Pitt Alumni Association board. He earned the 2001 School of Dental Medicine Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award and in 2006 was named a Legacy Laureate.
Bowser felt there was an opportunity to create more loyalty to the School of Dental Medicine among its alumni—many of whom had not kept in touch with the University.
“I wanted to establish a way to encourage alumni to return to the school so they could see how much had changed,” Bowser said. “There was so much new happening with the School of Dental Medicine as well as the profession.”
The Bowser Lecture Series
Working with then-Dean Jon Suzuki, Bowser came up with the idea of funding a dental lecture series and bringing in some key figures in dentistry as speakers to generate more enthusiasm from alumni. He and his wife, Joanne Bowser (A&S ’62), made a gift to endow the T.F. Bowser Memorial Lecture Series, named in honor of his father.
“The Bowser lecture series is one of the biggest events on the dental school’s continuing education offerings, attracting alumni and professionals from around the country for several decades,” said Bernard J. Costello, dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. “It allows us to stay connected in a meaningful way, provide cutting-edge and timely topics to practitioners, and allows our current students to meet alumni. The Bowser family has been strong supporters of Pitt Dental Medicine in many ways, and we appreciate all that they have done so far for our University.”
The Bowser endowed fund has grown large enough to also support a second program during homecoming.
The Bowsers support a long list of other funds with their Chancellor’s Circle-level giving, including the creation in 2009 of the Captain David E. Bowser U.S. Marine Corps Scholarship Fund in memory of their son, who in 1995 was killed while flying his F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet. Most recently, the couple has expanded their support to include Panthers Forward, the unique program that reduces education debt and offers mentorship and life skills training for 150 graduating Pitt seniors each year.
Their financial support for the University goes all the way back to the 1920s when their mothers each purchased bricks to help build the Cathedral of Learning. And the Bowser family tradition of Pitt grads is now four generations deep. Two of Ellsworth and Joanne’s three children earned graduate degrees from Pitt and one of their grandchildren graduated in 2020 with an Arts and Sciences degree. A second grandson is expected to graduate from the School of Business in 2022, and a third grandson has been accepted and will enroll next fall.
“We like to help the students,” said Joanna Bowser. “The University is exploding into something much greater than we can even imagine and we should do anything we can to help.”