Medicine: a nobel and scholarly profession

Faculty emeritus Dr. Glen E. Gresham says that his 20 years at UB were “the high point in my career.  It was what I had always hoped to be and to do.”  He was referring to his position as chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC).  Thanks, in part, to his influence, ECMC, which is a teaching hospital-affiliate of UB, is nationally recognized for its cardiovascular services and trauma care.  It operates the region’s only spinal cord injury unit and pioneered regional care for traumatic brain injury and post-polio syndrome. 

Dr. and Mrs. Gresham have established endowment funds for the medical and nursing schools, respectively, at UB, and he has also set up a bequest for the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.  His major goal is to provide support for meritorious clinical research.  He phrases it this way: “Medicine is a noble and scholarly profession. It is not just a business. UB must continue making a difference in perpetuating that ideal!”

As a medical scholar, Dr. Gresham received numerous awards, two at UB: the Dean’s Award for outstanding leadership and academic excellence and the Gresham Visiting Professorship in Rehabilitation Medicine, established by Dr. Albert C. Rekate who founded the department.

Dr. Gresham continues to serve the medical school as a member of the Deans Advisory Council and as one of the founders of the Medical Emeritus Faculty Group, which centers on lifelong learning, mentoring, and facilitating important initiatives such as the Gold Humanism Award.