Lewis F. Gould, Jr.

Look at Lewis Gould Jr. now and you see a distinguished attorney who heads the intellectual property practice group Duane Morris in Philadelphia, a leading Republican from Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, and an enthusiastic advocate for Temple University.

It’s hard to believe that he owes it all to a soda fountain.

Gould was a high-achieving high school student in Middletown near Harrisburg in the late 1950s when the owner of the local soda fountain and pharmacy gave him a job. Gould worked in the shop with its five stools for those who wanted an ice cream treat or a nickel Coke. The owner, William Bankes, suggested to Gould that a life as a pharmacist was worth pursuing.

Gould took his mentor’s advice and applied to two schools — Temple University, and the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (now the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia).

He felt the tour at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science — Bankes’ alma mater — was “rather perfunctory.” Then he went to Temple’s School of Pharmacy.

“I didn’t have an appointment. We just drove up there and told them I had applied to the school,” Gould recalled. He met Assistant Dean Fred Gable and received a personalized tour, plus the offer of some scholarship money — “not much, but it was enough.”

As a pharmacy student, Gould’s life was deeply linked with that of the Pharmacy School and his fraternity.

He graduated in 1962, and went to work in a program sponsored by the U.S. surgeon general.

Then, once again on the advice of Bankes, Gould pursued a law degree, this time at Dickinson College, where he graduated in 1966.

He combined his pharmacy background and his law degree for a successful career in patent law and intellectual property law.

In 1968, he moved to Lower Merion Township and a few years later became active in the local Republican Party. Later, as chair of the SEPTA board of directors, he worked with then-President Peter Liacouras.

Gould maintained his Temple affiliations by working with the University’s alumni board, eventually becoming its representative to the Board of Trustees. He has since served several terms on the board as a state senate appointee, under chairs Richard J. Fox and Howard Gittis.

As a trustee, he has come to appreciate the impact Temple has on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. He also has been impressed with the energy and vision of Liacouras and President David Adamany for moving Temple forward.

“I have learned a lot about Temple, and its value,” Gould said.

– By Ray Betzner
 

© 2005 Temple Times