Seeing double in the Chancellor’s office

From left: UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., visits with former Chancellor Robert Sparks, M.D., at UNMC on Wednesday. Dr. Sparks, who was UNMC chancellor from 1972 to 1976, was on campus to meet with friends and campus leaders.

Robert Sparks, M.D., who served as UNMC Chancellor from 1972 to 1976, was back on campus on Wednesday to visit with colleagues and meet with medical center leaders.

Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and College of Public Health Dean Ayman El-Mohandes, M.B.B.Ch., M.D., M.P.H., were among those he visited.

“Dr. Sparks laid some important ground work that led to UNMC being what it is today,” Dr. Maurer said. “It was a pleasure to visit with him again.”

During his tenure as chancellor, Dr. Sparks oversaw construction of:

• The College of Pharmacy building;
  
• The College of Nursing building; and
  
• The Nebraska Lion’s Eye Institute.

He created the Board of Counselors, a group of 20 advisers for long-range planning and goal setting. Today, the Board of Counselors has grown to nearly 50 members and continues to be an important advisory group for the medical center.

Dr. Sparks also has a major interest in public health and about five years ago he established three funds to benefit the UNMC College of Public Health. The funds are:

• The Chancellor Robert D Sparks, M.D. Award in Public Health and Preventive Medicine Fund;
  
• The Sparks Public Health Research Fund; and
  
• The Chancellor Robert D. Sparks, M.D. Pre-Professional Student Scholarship in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

Now retired, Dr. Sparks lives in El Dorado Hills, Calif., and serves as senior associate of the California Medical Association Foundation and as an adviser to the Quincy Foundation for Medical Research.