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JUDY DEMERSSTUDENT SERVANT AND PUBLIC SERVANTBy Juan Pedraza10 NORTH DAKOTA MEDICINE Holiday 2010WHEN JUDY DEMERS, THE UNDSchool of Medicine and Health Sciences’longtime associate dean for studentaffairs and admissions, retires thisDecember, it’ll be with the well-wishesof more than a thousand physicianswho once were students here.“All in all, a terrific ride,” saidDeMers, who also fit a successfulpolitical career into her life as a mom,spouse, and medical schooladministrator and teacher.It sure didn’t start out that way.“My parents thought that it was awaste of time for women to go tocollege,” DeMers said.But DeMers went on to graduatefrom UND’s College of Nursing summacum laude in 1966 and earned amaster’s degree in education from theUniversity of Washington in 1973. Threeyears into her nursing career, she wasasked in 1969 to come to UND to teachand, later, to become a top administrator.“It was never just a job to me; ithas always been a commitment to thestudents and to the state of NorthDakota—a commitment I hope tocontinue in other ways in future years,”DeMers said.“The thing that I am proudest of isthe help that I’ve been able to provideto our medical students every yearsince I started at the med school,”DeMers said. “It’s good to know thatI’ve made a difference in their success