Donald R. May grew up on his ancestral family farm, which he and his wife still operate. He initially majored in nuclear physics and subsequently in immunological chemistry, in which he continued graduate school laboratory research. He received his BS degree with High Honors and Distinction from the University of Illinois, Champaign, and his MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago. He interned at the Northwestern University Hospitals and completed his ophthalmology surgery residency and a subsequent retina surgery fellowship at the University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary.
He was a Major in the USAF stationed at the Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, and served as the first retina surgeon in the USAF. He founded the USAF Retina and Ocular Trauma Service and treated injured military patients flown to him worldwide. He was declared to also be a “veterinarian” by the Carter White House so he could consult on President Carter’s injured dog. He received the Air Force Commendation Medal for “meritorious service.”
He served on the faculties of the University of Illinois, the University of Texas, the University of California, Tulane University, and the Texas Tech Health Sciences University. He was Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at the Tulane University Charity Hospital and subsequently in 1989 at the Texas Tech School of Medicine, where he was also a full professor in the Health Organization Management MBA program and later an Associate Dean in the Texas Tech School of Medicine.
Dr. May spent time during his nine years of medical and surgical training at the three Veterans Administration Medical Centers in the Chicago area. He later served as a consultant surgeon at the Veterans Administration Medical Centers in San Antonio (Texas), Martinez (California), New Orleans and Alexandria (Louisiana), and Lubbock and Big Spring (Texas).
Dr. May served on the Medical Advisory Board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) from 2000 to 2007, working to develop innovative programs to bring free medications to nationwide patients who could not afford to purchase their medications.
In 1975, Dr. May spent a month in Madurai, India, performing cataract surgery in surgical camps established in remote rural jungle areas. Their team of 10 surgeons performed 1,000 cataract surgeries per day. A technique, developed by Dr. May, of injecting very small amounts of an antibiotic into the operated eyes at the time surgery, reduced the rate of postoperative blinding infections in the operated eyes by a factor of 10.
In 1979, Dr. May planned to begin working in Kabul, Afghanistan, teaching Afghan eye surgeons advanced vitreoretinal and eye trauma surgery at the National Organization for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation Institute (the only Christian group allowed in Afghanistan at the time). He had to change his plans due to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.
In 1980, Dr. May was invited as the first foreigner to perform surgery in the People’s Republic of China, teaching and performing vitreoretinal and ocular trauma surgery at university medical centers in Canton, Chengchow, Xian, Shanghai, Hangchow, Beijing (National Academy of Medical Sciences), and Urumchi. He returned to China for three additional extended times to teach and perform modern vitreoretinal surgery and ocular trauma surgery.
He has taught and spoken on vitreoretinal and ocular trauma surgery throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, China, India, and Western Europe. Dr. May served for 25 years as a member of the Board of Directors of the World Eye Foundation, including two years as president. He authored the largest reported epidemiological study of 8,952 serious eye injuries ever reported.
Dr. May authored more than 100 juried scientific publications and has given more than 200 scientific presentations at national and international meetings.
He served four terms on the Lubbock Board of Health, helping to successfully shut down Planned Parenthood in Lubbock.
He is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Senior Honor Award) and the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of Sigma Xi (Scientific Research Honor Society for Scientists and Engineers), the Retina Society, the Christian Medical and Dental Association, and numerous other professional societies and organizations.
Dr. May has been active in Conservative politics and delivered his very popular Tea Party speech first on 15 April 2009 in Lubbock. He subsequently delivered this speech at Tea Party events throughout Texas, including at the inaugural Texas Tea Party in San Antonio on the evening of 04 July 2009, where he, Governor Rick Perry, Joe the Plumber, and Marcus Luttrell were the four featured speakers.
He and his wife have served as delegates to Lubbock County Republican Conventions and Texas Republican Conventions attending most of the conventions since 2004.
Dr. May served as the lead delegate for the Texas 19th Congressional District to both the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. He is favorably featured in Alexandra Pelosi’s 2008 HBO hit-piece documentary on the Republicans.
Dr. May has written and published more than 3,000 separate political columns and commentaries over the past 22 years and has spoken at numerous political gatherings and events.
Following 9/11/2001, he wrote for TownHall.com, where his “One Nation Under God” series of twelve articles on the Judeo-Christian foundations of the United State of America resulted in the American Communist Party naming him the third most dangerous person in the United States, right behind President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
He wrote a daily online Conservative political blog as “Mr. Conservative” and was recognized as the “Texas Conservative Blogger of the Year” and was awarded the “Defender of the American Dream Award” by Americans for Prosperity in 2009.
Dr. May debated Arnold Loewy, the George Killiam Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law, on current issues relating to the United States Constitution and was invited by Professor Loewy to discuss Constitutional Law in his classes and to debate at the School of Law. Their written debates appeared every other week as the “It’s Debatable” series on the op-ed page of the Sunday Lubbock Avalanche-Journal until 2015.
In the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections, Dr. May campaigned for Donald J. Trump using social media and direct personal contact. He and his wife campaigned personally while they were traveling and working in Texas, Illinois, and California.
Dr. May and his wife are members of a small rural American Lutheran church, which his ancestors founded more than 175 years ago. They attend the First United Methodist Church in Lubbock.
He was a member of the Vatican Exhibition 2002 Foundation and served as the Liaison for the Vatican Exhibition Foundation for the 2002 MEDIEVAL FRESCOES FROM THE VATICAN MUSEUMS COLLECTION EXHIBITION at the Museum of Texas Tech University. He and his wife spent two periods of time working at the Vatican and subsequently with the Exhibition in Lubbock.
He was asked in 2011 to provide advice to Pope Benedict on trusted news media resources, which subsequently resulted in Pope Benedict hiring a Fox News correspondent as his senior communications advisor.
Dr. May and his wife are members of the American Farm Bureau Federation since 1993.
He served on the Board of the Lubbock International Cultural Center, Inc. starting in 1990, where he brought Conservative speakers to speak at events, including Attorney General Edwin Meese, Dick Morris, Stephen Moore, and James Carafano.
He is a life member of The Greater Lubbock Area Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. He is a life member of the American Legion and the American Legion Post # 575. He is a Distinguished Life Member of the National Rifle Association. He is a member of The Rotary Club of Lubbock (Paul Harris Fellow) and the Lubbock Lions Club.
He once worked as a partner in a company that provided innovative lighting solutions to Buckingham Palace and the art of the Royal Collection of the British royal family.
He and his wife enjoy working on their family farms, purchasing and preserving historic small family farms, preserving a historic farm home and unique historic farming equipment, visiting friends and relatives worldwide, discovering family operated restaurants (especially those run by generations of families), providing surgical care to the poor, reading and studying, mountain hiking, supporting the arts, and learning about the world and meeting its people.
