About the School
History
Some years ago J. Warren Perry, the dean of the School of Health Related Professions when it was originally established, gave an after-dinner talk on the occasion of the school's twenty-fifth anniversary. He described how he obtained some of the early financial support, people here at the university who helped the school in the beginning, and the many who, at one time, were associated with the school and then went on to carve out--in some cases very distinguished--careers elsewhere. Although we will not attempt to capture in this necessarily brief article all of Dr. Perry's many charming reminiscences on the occasion of this speech, we thought it might interest our readers to know about some of this early history.
The School of Health Related Professions was created by order of the Trustees of the State University of New York on October 14, 1965, in response to a recommendation by Peter F. Regan, III, M.D., Vice President for Health Affairs. Albert C. Rekate, M.D., Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine in the School of Medicine, was named acting dean. The new school was composed of undergraduate programs in Medical Technology, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, each of which had existed in the School of Medicine for several years. A fourth program in Community College Health Careers was also part of the school. The School of Health Related Professions was officially dedicated on April 30, 1967, at a ceremony held in the Fillmore Room of Norton Union. At the time that it was founded, the School of Health Related Professions was the first allied health professions school in New York State and one of only a few in the nation.
Dr. J. Warren Perry first heard about the new school being developed here while he was deputy assistant commissioner for research and training in the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration of the then Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in Washington. He stopped in Buffalo (on his way to the Shakespeare festival in Stratford, Ontario) to assist Mildred Heap in developing a proposal for a large training grant for the physical therapy program, which she headed. While on campus, Perry spoke to Marcie Jacques, then chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, about the interest here in organizing the programs in medical technology, physical therapy, and occupational therapy into a new school. Dr. Peter Regan, the newly appointed vice president for Health Affairs, had come from the University of Florida in Gainesville where a multi-disciplinary school had been instituted with the title Health Related Professions. He provided important leadership in developing HRP. Dr. Regan and his assistant, Dr. Lawrence Cappiello, held weekly meetings of the Health Affairs Council, which was made up of the deans of the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Related Professions. Academic and clinical projects of mutual concern were discussed over sherry.
The late 60s and early 70s were a time when financial and human resources were readily available. Money was always obtainable to fund a good idea. In addition to Dr. Regan, the school had strong support from Dr. John Naughton, dean of the School of Medicine, and from O.P. Jones and Harold Brody, who made certain that the anatomy taught HRP students was top quality. Herman Rahn and Beverly Bishop did the same in Physiology. These faculty members from the School of Medicine took on the responsibility for HRP students in addition to that for the medical and dental students.
HRP took full advantage of the Allied Health Professions Training Act of 1966 for funding clinical facilities outside the university, continuing education programs, and improving curriculum. Two of the seven-member original committee to decide on awards --Phyllis Higley and Warren Perry--were from Buffalo. When federal funding ended, the university made every effort to continue to support faculty lines. Early support came also from the Kellogg and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations. A local grant provided $400 per year for liquor to be served following faculty meetings. More interdisciplinary projects were developed following these "receptions."
Although Perry was discouraged from competing for a grant to build a new structure to house all HRP programs because a tower in Amherst was proposed, he did receive from Washington $850,000 to rehabilitate four floors in Kimball Tower, previously a dormitory. Space has been a continuing problem throughout the school's 30-year history.
The School of Health Related Professions was formally dedicated on May 1, 1967. The dedication ceremonies were held in conjunction with the first manpower conference for the health related professions, which was funded by the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration in the amount of $14,000. National leaders from fourteen national health associations, representatives from granting agencies in Washington, foundation representatives, and representatives from many schools in New York State and around the country attended the meeting in the old Statler Hotel in Buffalo. The organizational structure of the School of Health Related Professions at UB became the model for similar schools in the three other health science centers in New York State.
At about the time of the dedication, Harley Flack, a first cousin of the singer Roberta Flack, became associated with the School of HRP. Flack, a physical therapist who had just completed his Ph.D. in counseling, organized in Buffalo the first meeting of minority faculty and clinical leaders in the allied health professions. Black and Spanish speaking representatives who attended the meeting formed the nucleus of what became the National Allied Health Society. Harley Flack went on to become the first dean of allied health at Howard University and held several other important administrative positions, his last one being the president of Wright State University in Ohio.
There were numerous other individuals who made invaluable contributions to the school in those early years and added to its image as a model for schools of allied health. Perry mentioned the following, but cautioned that he surely omitted some names.
The Department of Medical Technology at UB was the first to have as its chair a Ph.D. (John Fopeano) instead of an M.D. This is now typical. Sara Marie Cicarelli was the president of the American Society of Medical Technology. Betty Murphy was a leader in national accreditation and certification programs. Helen Lees, Ph.D., was one of the first directors of a graduate program in medical technology in the country.
Mildred Heap was the first to head the physical therapy program. Later James Griffin held that position. Jane Mathews Gentry chaired the department and then went on to serve two terms as national president of the American Physical Therapy Association. Three PT staff or students are now deans.
Nancy Greenman (for whom a scholarship is named) and Gertrude Dray developed the occupational therapy program in its early years. This became the background for the fantastic funding program that William Mann and his faculty and staff developed so successfully.
The programs in physical education and health education were previously in a school headed by the late Harry Fritz. Carlton Meyers, John Piscopo, Darwin Dennison, Gerald Greenberg, and Lawrence Cappiello were the faculty members who joined the School of HRP from the former School of Health Education. Subsequently, physical education and physical therapy were joined in one department. Health education and health sciences education and evaluation were combined into a single department which was later disbanded. However, faculty associated with these programs became dean of the School of Nursing at West Virginia University, director of Allied Health at Ohio State University, dean of Allied Health at Western Michigan, and president of New England University. In addition, three postdoctoral fellows became deans, and some 60 others serve as department chairs and faculty in colleges and universities around the country. At this time, 15 former students or staff are deans of institutions of higher education. HRP at Buffalo has provided national allied health leadership at a level unequaled by other institutions.
Ruth Kocher, who had been on the faculty of Buffalo State College, transferred to UB to develop a graduate program in nutrition. Members of the Dean's Office staff during Perry's tenure were Kathryn Sawner, now Director of Communications Support Service at UB; Frank Husted, who became dean at Temple University; Joseph Nechasek, who served as dean of Allied Health and Nursing at the University of Bridgeport; Thomas Robinson, dean at the University of Kentucky and former president of the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions; and Marjorie Tiedemann, his secretary, who earned a PhD at the University of Arizona, where she continued to work in the School of Medicine.
Dr. Perry served as dean of the school until 1977. He was succeeded by Harry A. Sultz, D.D.S., who served as dean from 1978 to 1986 and then by G. Alan Stull, Ed.D., who served as dean from 1988 to 1995. The school has also been served by several interim deans, Sara M. Cicarelli from 1977 to 1978; Kenneth J. Levy, Ph.D., from 1986 to 1987; Robert A. Rossberg, Ph.D., from 1987 to 1988; and Barry S. Eckert, Ph.D., from 1995 to 1999. In the fall of 1999, Dr. Frank Brady, Ph.D., arrived from the University of South Dakota to become the fourth permanent dean of the School of Health Related Professions. Sadly, Dr. Brady died suddenly after two months in office. In January 2000, Mark B. Kristal, Ph.D., became the fifth interim dean of the school. In September 2001, Maurizio Trevisan, M.D., M.S., who was chairman of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, agreed to serve as interim dean of HRP. Dr. Trevisan brought with him the vision for the new School of Public Health and Health Professions (SPHHP), which was formally established in January 2003. Dr. Trevisan was named Dean on the School of Public Health and Health Professions in December 2004 and served in that capacity until September of 2007, when he was tapped by the Nevada System of High Education to serve as Vice Chancellor and CEO of the University of Nevada Health Sciences System. In September 2007, Lynn T. Kozlowski, Ph.D. was named interim dean of the school, which currently consists of five departments: Biostatistics, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Health Behavior, Rehabilitation Science (housing OT, PT and the PhD Program in Rehabilitation Science), and Social and Preventive Medicine. The School is also home to the Women's Health Initiative, the Center for Preventive Medicine, the Center for Assistive Technology, the Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information Exchange, and the Western New York Population Health Observatory.
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