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Clockwise from left, Jane Potter, M.D., Gib Willett, Ph.D., Kyle Meyer, Ph.D., Mary Haven, and Pat Hageman, Ph.D., at a Tuesday ceremony honoring Dr. Hageman, who steps down today after 19 years as PT chairwoman. |
She was born on Christmas Eve. She met her husband on Halloween. On April Fool’s Day in 1991, she hired Kyle Meyer, Ph.D., as a faculty member in the School of Allied Health Professions (SAHP) Division of Physical Therapy.
“That was fitting,” Dr. Hageman quipped recently about the hiring date for her friend and fellow classmate in the UNMC PT Class of 1979. As SAHP’s associate dean, Dr. Meyer is now Dr. Hageman’s boss.
In keeping with her holiday tradition, today — which is Halloween — Dr. Hageman steps down as chairwoman of the division of physical therapy education — a position she’s held for 19 years.
“I don’t know what it is but I do everything on holidays,” said Dr. Hageman, who plans to take a year sabbatical but will remain on the PT faculty. “It’s been an honor to serve as program director for 19 years but the time is right for me to step down.”
Gilbert “Gib” Willett, Ph.D., associate professor in PT education, will serve as interim director of the program until a full-time director is selected.
“Pat Hageman is synonymous with our PT program,” Dr. Meyer said. “She has overseen the program for more than half of its existence and has seen it through remarkable growth and progress.”
Some examples of this progress were two curriculum changes that first saw the PT program go from offering bachelor’s degrees to master’s degrees and then a later change that had the program move from offering master’s degree’s to doctoral degrees.
She also has led the growth of the program’s faculty and student body.
“When Pat and I went to school here, there were only 16 students in our class,” Dr. Meyer said. “Now we have 40 students in each class.”
The faculty also has grown to 11 members from four in 1989.
Jane Potter, M.D., professor and chief of the section of geriatrics and gerontology at UNMC, has worked extensively with Dr. Hageman, who has a strong interest in geriatric physical therapy.
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“Dr. Hageman is an outstanding teacher, not just of students but of all those who work with her,” Dr. Potter said. “She has very clear vision of how things work and a clear way of expressing that vision.”
This clarity of expression also is one of the main things Mary Haven most recalls about Dr. Hageman.
Haven — who served 11 years as associate dean of the SAHP — said she viewed Dr. Hageman as a reliable counselor during that time.
“The thing about Pat was that she never hesitated to tell me how she really felt, even if I didn’t really like what she had to say,” Haven said during a reception for Dr. Hageman on Tuesday, drawing laughs from the crowd. “But she was usually right and she kept me from making some mistakes over the years.”
Dr. Hageman will continue as tenured professor in physical therapy education, focusing on teaching, community outreach and research related to rural health and clinical gerontology.
But she also plans to spend more time with her husband, Bruce, at their home on their farm near Ithaca, Neb.
“Over the years, I’ve often been pulled away from our home life a lot because of my work so now he’ll have to get used to me being around a bit more,” Dr. Hageman said. “That might be a scary thought for him to ponder on Halloween, huh.”