Illinois Medicine

COM reunion welcomes anniversary classes back to quickly changing campus 34 | S U M M e R 2 014 Or geOrge COOPer '37, Md '38, 100 years young, the secret to a happy life and career has been "successful surgery, successful investing and two lovely wives." an air force flight surgeon during World War II and retired president of alexian Brothers Medical Center in elk grove village, Ill., Cooper advises current medical students to "work hard, be careful, and know what you're doing before you do it." Back at the College of Medicine for reunion 2013, where he served as honorary chair, Cooper said he performed his last surgery at age 91. and he has passed down his love of medicine to his son gary, Md '69, and nephew Marshall Matz Md '64, res '69. "I keep it in the family," Cooper said. the 2013 reunion celebration attracted other old hands, includ- ing rosita Pildes '51, Md '53; and robert Pildes '51, Md'53, an OB/ gyn and infertility specialist who performed original research that led to the fertility "pill" and also co-founded gottlieb Memorial Hos- pital in Melrose Park, Ill. a neonatologist and former chair of pediatrics at Cook County Hospital, rosita Pildes was one of eight women in the Class of 1953. "I am so impressed to see so many women," she said of current students. "they used to come up to me and tell me I was their role model." Cooper joined the Pildeses, Jack gibbs '51, Md '53, Bernard greenwald, Md '43, and sidney Barsky '41, Md '43, at the head table during the dean's Luncheon. "you need to come to this table for medical care," joked dean dimitri t. azar, Md, MBa. "We have many years of experience here." azar then turned to the future, discussing progress on the over- reunion recap Kate Tormey and Ed Finkel old hAndS, neW BegInnIngS f arching goals he set upon becoming dean, including a focus on active learning and simulation. at most, 60 percent of course material now consists of lecture, he said, while the college has opened the $25 million Jump trading simulation Center in Peoria. attendees took a tour of the Learning Center Project, a $14.5 million renovation of the college's West tower scheduled for completion this fall, which will bring state-of-the-art audiovisual facilities, more natural light and improved accessibility. during the golden alumni Luncheon, the room buzzed with con- versation as members of the Class of 1963 reconnected and reminisced. One of John Corboy's classmates pulled some faded photographs from his jacket pocket, and Corboy's face lit up. "these are from my wedding!" he said, excitedly pointing out classmates who had been his groomsmen. alumni visited their former anatomy lab, and the sights and sounds brought back a flood of memories from standing there over 50 years ago. "It was such a moment," said Corboy, a retired ophthalmologist who lives in Hawaii and runs a foundation that trains surgeons in asia. "Here were these bright-eyed kids looking just like us when we were bright-eyed kids. I wanted to trade places with them and do it all over again." Corboy's classmate, Burt dunbar '60, Md '63, said the College of Medicine made him "one of the best residents I could be. I am grateful to my classmates and the people of Illinois who supported me." the day wrapped up with a dinner honoring milestone and anniver- sary classes. graduates of the college's Peoria campus, for example, came from far and wide to celebrate their 30th reunion. "this is a special group of people," said richard Berkowitz '79, Md '83, who was reminiscing with classmates now living as far away as Cali- fornia and Maryland. "It was a special place for all of us." Alumni attending the October 2013 reunion met fellow alums from between five and 65 years earlier while touring the ongoing renovation of the college's West Tower and hearing the latest from Dean Dimitri Azar and other COM leaders. the 2014 Reunion celebration will be held Sept. 19-20, and alumni with class years ending in '4 and '9 are invited to come see the completed West tower renovation and reconnect with their old friends and classmates. for more information and to register online visit http://www.chicago. medicine.uic.edu/giving/homecoming_2014. P h o t o s : D i a n e s M u t n y

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