This rare quality has garnered his selection as the first staff winner of the David B. Thorud Leadership Award. The award honors those who lead, serve, inspire and collaborate with broad-ranging impact that is beyond their regular responsibilities. David Thorud, professor of forest hydrology, was dean of the UW College of Forest Resources from 1981 to 2000, director of UW government relations from 1984 to 1985, and acting provost and vice president for academic affairs from 1994 to 1996.

"I respect and admire David Thorud so much," Coulter said. "So to have my name under his as the first of two recipients of this award is quite an honor. He has given so much. He would always take any task and always do it well, and do it with modesty and hard work."

As executive director of Health Sciences Administration, Coulter is responsible for the administrative affairs of the Health Sciences Center, including capital planning, government relations, community relations, academic support services, educational resources, and risk management and for university-wide activities of environmental health and safety and student health services. As associate vice president for Medical Affairs, he directs operations for the academic medical center and serves as the University's liaison with Harborview Medical Center, and contact between King County and the University for the management of Harborview.

Coulter's journey to becoming a highly recognized leader began with hard work.

"My parents were always role models. My dad died when I was 9. My mother worked hard. I've worked since I was 15 — after school and all the way through college. I mowed lawns at cemeteries, I was a chef at a fast-food joint, and I worked on garbage trucks. My motivation to be a hard worker was seeded in the fear of not surviving."

Coulter said he learned some of his basic leadership skills on jobs he held while a student at the State University of New York in Buffalo. He worked on the trucking and maintenance crew. "The best early learning experience I had was working on the trucks on the maintenance crew. I learned more there about working and relationships with people than I did in six years of formal educational training in the University. I learned a lot from secretaries, office workers, and crew members."

His first administrative position was as a department manager in the department of physics at Buffalo. "I was 22 years old, managing highly skilled technicians in the mechanical and electrical shops who were old enough to be my parents and grandparents. They were doing the real work but yet were gracious and selfless enough to allow me to learn from them."

Coulter's formula for being an exceptional leader boils down to enabling people to do their jobs, being there to help them, and giving them credit for what they do.

Since joining the UW as assistant vice president for health sciences in 1979, Coulter said, he has had incredible support from great leaders throughout his career.

"At age 35, I was hired by Tom Grayston to be assistant vice president for Health Sciences. Later I worked for Jack Lein, Phil Fialkow, Bill Gerberding and now Paul Ramsey and Mark Emmert. Each of them has the unique characteristic of letting me loose on problems that many others might not risk my being successful in handling. They taught me that you can take a chance on people and let them show you whether they can do it or not.

"They all let me do and try things that most people wouldn't have allowed. They were always there to help me. I never felt for a minute that they weren't behind me. I hope the folks who work for me feel the same way."