50th Anniversary Section Image
Memories
"Once in a while Dr. [Nathan] Perry would send all the staff to lunch and he would answer the phones. We were skeptical of his phone skills and when we came back he would be pounding phone buttons saying 'I think I disconnected them' with a sheepish smile on his face. We would reassure him that they would call back."
- Peggy Bessinger, coordinator, administrative services, department of clinical and health psychology
"I have many, many pleasant memories of UF and the College of Health Professions. I was blessed with a tremendous faculty and a devoted staff. What more could any administrator ask for? If I had to point out one failing of my administration, however, it would be my total inability to convince the university administration of the tremendous contributions Dr. Darrel J. Mase, founding dean of the college, made both nationally and internationally to allied health education. A man of vision, an educator who coined the term 'allied health' because he believed that in the future patients enrolled in the health care system would be treated by teams of health care professionals trained together as teams in academic health care centers."
- Dr. Richard Gutekunst, dean, 1980-1995
"I remember the histology rotation, which is where you slice tissues into little pieces. I wasn't very good at it. The microtome blades are very delicate and I ruined four blades in one day. So they decided they didn't need me and sent me to help the pathology residents who were in autopsy rotation. At that time there was a tennis court outside the emergency room. When there weren't autopsies we would go and play tennis."
- Sue Osier, medical technology class of 1964
"We used to kid my father [Lowell Hammer, former professor of communicative disorders and former acting dean], 'You'll never get your Ph.D.,' and we all said that he was on the seven-year plan. He disputes this of course, but it was, and is, a never-ending source of amusement for family and friends. I do remember, however, what a proud day it was seeing my dad graduate and walk across the stage in his doctoral hood. He never used to like to wear that thing, but it was another very proud day when he was able to represent the college on stage the day my sister received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications from UF in December 1978."
- David Hammer, master's in business administration/master's in health administration class of 1987
"I loved every minute of my professional career."
- Janet Rodeheaver, former professor, medical technology