June 12, 2014 | Dolores Bruce worked for more than a decade to advance UAMS, its colleges, faculty, staff and students, and she did it all as a volunteer by her husband’s side.

Her husband, Thomas A Bruce, M.D., served as dean of the College of Medicine and the inaugural dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health. To honor Dolores’ memory and all she did for UAMS, Bruce donated $275,000 for a memorial fountain in front of UAMS Medical Center.

The fountain is 18 inches deep and 50 feet in diameter with a 25-foot center spray and eight 15-foot-high sprays arching toward the center, all highlighted with LED lighting.

Nearly 100 people gathered for the dedication of the fountain May 24, 2014. Kent Westbrook, M.D., professor of surgery at UAMS introduced Bruce. Bruce paid tribute to his wife and all that she had done before her death Jan. 11, 2013.

“During the 11 years I was dean of the College of Medicine, Dolores worked as hard as I did to advance the well-being of faculty, staff and students and their families,” Bruce said. “Her role was always voluntary, but it was no less enthusiastic and effective. Honoring her memory with a fountain in front of the hospital is just another way of furthering her lifetime goals, including creating a place of solace and rest, not just for patients and visitors, but a place of beauty and pride for all members of the campus family.”

When the Bruce family lived in Little Rock in the 1970s and 80s, Dolores Bruce became involved in the Faculty Wives Club, the Winfield Methodist Chancel Choir and the Arkansas Opera Theatre. She also served as president of the Hall High School PTA.

After returning to Little Rock in 2005, she served on the Little Rock Arts and Culture Commission and the board of directors of Wildwood Park for the Arts where the Dodi Tea House is named in her honor.

She received a number of honors including the Special Appreciation Award and the Janet Pearcy Ambassador Award from Wildwood Park, the Double Helix Award from UAMS, the Spirit of Central High Award from Little Rock Central High School Museum, the Giving Tree Society Award of the Arkansas Community Foundation, Care Link’s David Pryor Award for Community Service, and the President’s Award as Philanthropist of the Year by the Arkansas Chapter of the American Society of Professional Fundraisers.

Bruce’s gift was matched by private funds from the UAMS College of Medicine Faculty’s Group Practice matching gifts fund for a total of $550,000. A portion of the gift will support an endowment for operation and maintenance of the fountain.