There are lots of words to describe John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D. — caring, visionary, leader, integrity, mentor, listener, facilitator, intellectual.
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TIME OUT |
WITH T.O. by Tom O’Connor |
He was all that and more. But perhaps the one word that captures him best is gentleman.
If you had the pleasure of knowing the former dean of the College of Medicine, you’d know exactly what I mean. There was no such thing as bad mood in his vernacular. Life was always good.
More than 60 admirers of Dr. Gollan gathered Monday for a memorial service in the Sorrell Center to remember John and offer their final goodbyes.
It was a great send off for the 72-year-old physician who died Jan. 6.
Thirteen people shared their memories. Some of the nuggets that captured the man and his career included:
- James Armitage, M.D., on the affiliation agreement Dr. Gollan was able to negotiate with Children’s Hospital & Medical Center — “This was a huge, complicated thing. John did it. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible.”
- Michael Sorrell, M.D., on how he called Dr. Gollan in Australia to get him to come to UNMC to serve as chair of internal medicine — “They (Dr. Gollan and his wife, Roseanne) were both in bed. John was undecided. I asked him to give the phone to Roseanne. She said, ‘I think we’re interested.'”
- Jialin Zheng, M.D. — “In China, there is a long distance between students and the dean. One of our Chinese students sent me an email saying, ‘I got a note from the dean!’ She had met Dr. Gollan, and he had sent her a note. That’s Dr. Gollan. He affected a lot of young people.”
- Kyle Meyer, Ph.D., cited Dr. Gollan for laying the groundwork to allow the School of Allied Health Professions to become a college. “I will forever be indebted to Dr. Gollan.”
- Bob Bartee, vice chancellor for external affairs, recounted a time Dr. Gollan was running late for a plane, pulled into the car rental return the wrong way and ran over the tire puncture spikes.
- James O’Dell, M.D., told how Dr. Gollan convinced him to stay at UNMC in 2005 when he was offered a job as rheumatology chairman at the Mayo Clinic.
Dr. O’Dell concluded by saying, “It’s said we die twice – when we stop breathing, and when people stop telling stories about us.”
That being the case, I suspect Dr. Gollan’s going to be around a long time.