Shaff Family Scholarship reflects gratitude and the spirit of educational opportunity

Leslie Shaff, MD’84, P'99, MBA, JD, MAT, always wanted to be a doctor. However, when she graduated from college in the late 1960s, the message received by many women at the time was clear: You can’t practice medicine and start a family. Aspiring female physicians, including Leslie, often felt forced to choose one path or the other. 

Instead, Leslie earned a master’s degree in teaching. But the call to medicine never left her. In 1980, with the encouragement of her husband, Harvey Shaff, DMD, Leslie pursued her deepest ambition and matriculated at UMass Chan Medical School. Forty-five years later, the Shaff family is launching a scholarship for medical students, born from a tremendous spirit of support, gratitude, family and the pursuit of education. 

Leslie was 35 and the mother of two young children, David and Eric, when she entered UMass Chan. While daunting, Leslie embraced medical training with her family’s support. She commuted to UMass Chan’s Worcester campus from her home in Needham, often making the drive with classmate Cathy Mintzer, MD’85.

“I would study each night when the boys went to bed, from about 8 to 11 p.m., catch a few hours of sleep, then get up at 3 a.m. and study until 5 a.m.,” Leslie said. “Saturday was family day, so no classwork, and then on Sunday I would study at Wellesley College, where a gracious custodian would open the library for me and other community members.” 

During lectures on campus, Leslie recalls sitting at the left-front of the auditorium with several women in situations similar to hers, in what became known as the “suburban housewives section.” She credits UMass Chan with taking a chance on students who did not follow a traditional path to medical school. 

“Not every medical school was willing to do that,” Leslie said. “I think my previous life experience gave me a unique perspective as a student that the institution valued.” 

At the time, UMass Chan was just entering its second decade. Leslie vividly remembers the sense of possibility permeating campus.

“Back then, the Medical School was still figuring out who it was,” Leslie said. “It was a wonderful time to be there. You got a top-notch medical education at an unbelievable price.” 

David and Eric spent time on campus with Leslie, a formative experience that foreshadowed later careers in the health care industry. David graduated from UMass Chan in 1999, meeting his wife, pediatrician Heidi Shaff, MD’00, in the Medical School library. David is currently an anesthesiologist at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, while Eric is president and CEO of biotechnology company Seres Therapeutics. 

“Occasionally my brother and I would go to campus with my mom, playing in the student lounge or sitting in on a lecture,” David said. “I think I may have even served as a standardized patient! It all came rushing back when I arrived for my own interview a decade later, which was a bit surreal. My mom and I share a unique bond to the Medical School, which also brought me and my wife, Heidi, together. It’s a very special place to my family.”

After graduating, Leslie went on to complete her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where she worked for the next 22 years as an anesthesiologist. “I believed my job was to give each patient the best day they could possibly have, and I loved it,” Leslie said.

Promotions into administrative roles at MGH prompted Leslie to pursue a Master of Business Administration through the Wharton Executive MBA Program. She then moved on to Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, where she directed the operating room, followed by a role as a surveyor with The Joint Commission, the largest accrediting body in U.S. health care. 

By 2010, Leslie found herself navigating complicated legal matters on behalf of her mother, whose health was failing. “I knew the medical issues, but the legal issues became overwhelming,” Leslie said. The experience inspired her to pursue a juris doctor degree from Boston College Law School—her fourth post-graduate degree—after which the school recruited her to teach a health care law and compliance class. 

Leslie credits Harvey with being her biggest advocate and making her ongoing education possible, while also pointing to the participation of David and Eric. “My continuing education was a daily endeavor for everyone; we all loved it, endured it and celebrated it. I could not have done it myself,” she said. “Meanwhile, UMass Chan gave me the opportunity to be a physician through an excellent medical education,” Leslie said. 

Leslie and her family are thrilled to express their gratitude to the Medical School through the new scholarship, which will support future generations of aspiring physicians. “What a gift, if you’re able, to give somebody else the opportunity to be a doctor,” Leslie said.