Kate Verville, Founder of the College’s Premed Program, Retires

By the time she’d earned her doctorate in biology, Kate Verville had experienced a small liberal arts school as an undergraduate and a large research university as a graduate student. Her close undergraduate interactions with faculty and fellow students and experience as a teaching assistant in grad school convinced Verville to focus on teaching and students. 

“I really enjoy teaching, and I’ve tried really hard to be better and better every year,” Verville said. “I’ll miss the learning that goes into teaching as well as finding a way to talk about and be excited about a topic in a way that helps students get enthusiastic.”

Soon after starting at Washington, Verville learned students needed support applying to medical school, and she stepped in to help, creating Washington’s premedical committee process. 

Made up primarily of faculty from disciplines related to medicine, the premedical committee advises students interested in medical, dental, optometry, and podiatry schools; helps them prepare for the extensive application process; and at the request of the students makes a Committee Letter available to the schools to which they have applied. 

“We designed the process so that the students would have the best application possible,” Verville said. “The Committee Letter is helpful, and the process students go through to be eligible to receive that letter is especially helpful.”

Verville was also instrumental in creating a new position several years ago, coordinator of pre-health professions advising, which provides support to Washington premedical/predental students and students interested in many other health professions. She chaired the Premedical Committee from its creation in 1987 until 2020, when she handed leadership to Professor Elizabeth Yost but remained on the committee. 

Verville always used students’ needs as her guiding star, creating courses and labs in the fields of microbiology and immunology and undertaking small research projects with undergraduates. The 1996 Washington College Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award recognized her dedication and skill, and she was awarded emerita status upon retirement.

“I liked interacting with the students and having some small positive impact on their lives,” Verville said. “I will miss a lot of things about the College, especially the students and the classroom.”