Manuchair “Mike” Ebadi, Ph.D., 79, the first chairman of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Pharmacology and one of UNMC’s most celebrated teachers, died of a massive heart attack Jan. 19 at his home in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Dr. Ebadi, a champion of excellence in teaching, was chairman from 1971 to 1988. Services were held Monday at the Fairhaven Memorial Home, Mission Viejo, Calif. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to Omaha’s Open Door Mission, of which Dr. Ebadi was a longtime supporter.
He joined UNMC’s faculty in 1967 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1969. He was appointed interim chairman in 1970 after the department was split from physiology. It is now the department of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience.
Dr. Ebadi’s passions were teaching and neurological research. “He set a high standard of quality for teaching in our department. He wanted students to understand the material and enjoy learning,” said Terry Hexum, Ph.D., professor emeritus of pharmacology, the first faculty member hired by Dr. Ebadi.
“Everyone at UNMC took note of his teaching standards, which caught on in other departments,” he said. “He loved teaching and classes were always full.”
Dr. Ebadi received many teaching awards, including the Alvin M. Earle Outstanding Health Science Educator Award, and the university-wide Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award and the now retired Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award.
But, Dr. Ebadi was most proud of the ones presented by students, said his daughter, Michelle McCormick, a writer who lives in Holdrege, Neb.
College of Medicine students enjoyed his engaging and interesting classes so much that they awarded him the Golden Apple for teaching excellence 11 times between 1971 and 1994. He had won it so many times that Dr. Ebadi was “retired” from future award consideration and became part of the elite Golden Apple Hall of Fame in 1995.
“Although he was busy with his research, he never turned away a student. He gave them all the time in the world,” McCormick said.
He created awards too – three for students and one for faculty. The Thomas Jefferson Ingenuity Award for graduate students is the only award that remains active.
Charles Murrin, Ph.D., professor emeritus, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, was hired by Dr. Ebadi in 1978.
“He was an interesting and complicated man,” Dr. Murrin said. “He built the department from scratch, increasing the faculty from five to 14, and developed one of the most successful basic science departments at UNMC.”
He also created independent pharmacology curriculums for medicine, nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, pharmacy, neurology/ophthalmology/psychiatry and graduate students, and established and supported the student research forum.
After leaving UNMC, Dr. Ebadi became the associate vice president for health affairs at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, associate dean for research and program development, and director of the Center for Excellence in Neurosciences at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, where he stayed until his retirement in 2007.
He authored nine pharmacology textbooks, 65 chapters and co-authored one book on the role of vitamin B6 in neurobiology.
He received his Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1967 from the University of Missouri Medical School in Columbia and his master’s of science degree in pharmacology in 1962 from the University of Missouri College of Pharmacy in Kansas City. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Park University, Parkville, Mo., in 1960.
What others are saying:
“Dr. Ebadi was an individual who made significant contributions to the mission of UNMC. Among these, Mike's talent as an educator, which was widely recognized, was probably his best attribute; this ability went far beyond the classroom. He was a master at understanding people and what motivated them. Mike shared these insights with me and they were invaluable in my career as a professor. I especially liked hearing him draw on his Persian background to provide an anecdote that clearly helped him make his point.”
Terry Hexum, Ph.D., professor emeritus, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience
“Dr. Ebadi was a dedicated teacher and was enthusiastic about his research career in pharmacology and neuroscience, continuing to write and edit books well after his retirement. On a more personal note, he and his wife, Pari, were warm and gracious hosts. I had the opportunity to visit them in their California home several years ago and I was honored and amazed by their hospitality. I remember him as a gentleman and a steadfast and generous friend. He will be missed.”
L. Charles Murrin, Ph.D., professor emeritus, pharmacology and experimental neuroscience
“I knew Mike Ebadi when I came to UNMC in 1972. He was the newly appointed chair of pharmacology. Mike was the consummate gentleman. He was smooth as silk and very meticulous. He had great people skills. One of the most notable memories is his amazing ability to memorize entire CVs when making an introduction of a seminar speaker or an award to be given. He also made many contributions to the field of neuropharmacology and built a new department from the ground up.”
Irving H. Zucker, Ph.D., Theodore F. Hubbard Professor of Cardiovascular Research and chairman, department of cellular and integrative physiology
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