Glen E. Gresham Visiting Professorship and Lecture

The Glen E. Gresham Visiting Professorship in Rehabilitation Science was endowed by the late Albert Rekate, and his wife, Linda, to benefit students, faculty and the wider community.

Dr. Albert C. Rekate joined the UB medical school faculty in 1954. Among his numerous contributions, he established the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, serving as acting chair from 1972—75, and also played a key role in the creation of the UB School of Health Related Professions (HRP), which ultimately gave rise to UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions. Dr. Rekate served as Acting Dean of HRP from 1965-66 and Associate Dean from 1966-74. 

A 1940 graduate of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Rekate completed his residency at E.J. Meyer Memorial Hospital—now Erie County Medical Center—and served as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1944-47.

Dr. Rekate was active in numerous medical societies. He serving as president of the Western New York Heart Association, the Medical Union, the Buffalo Academy of Medicine and UB’s Medical Alumni Society.

Over the years, Dr. Rekate and Linda Rekate were generous benefactors of the health sciences at UB, including endowing the Albert and Elizabeth Rekate Chair of Rehabilitation Medicine in 1993. In 2002, Dr. Rekate endowed the Dean's Award Fund in the School of Public Health and Health Professions and contributed seed money to develop an undergraduate core research curriculum in the school.

Dr. Rekate held a variety of administrative posts at E.J. Meyer Hospital, among them Associate Director of Medicine from 1957-63 and director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine from 1964-69. As director of the hospital from 1970-73, he played an important role in the hospital’s transition to the present day ECMC.

Glen E. Gresham, professor emeritus of rehabilitation medicine, requested that the visiting professorship be dedicated to Rekate, who was known as a generous benefactor of the health sciences at UB. Rekate died in February 2010 at age 93.

Dr. Gresham was a cum laude graduate of Harvard University and earned his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.  He served the University at Buffalo (UB) with distinction for over 20 years, including service as Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC). He developed the first spinal cord injury unit at ECMC, served as its director and set up programs for treatment of post-polio syndrome and traumatic brain injuries. He also served as medical director at the hospital as well as a consultant in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Buffalo General Medical Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in Buffalo and Batavia.

Dr. Gresham was a founding fellow of the American Rheumatism Association, an honorary member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He produced books and journal articles and lectured widely throughout the U.S. and Canada. He was also a leader in stroke research in the Framingham Heart Study and served on federal task forces on stroke rehabilitation. Dr. Gresham  received numerous awards, including the Walter P. Cooke Award from the UB Alumni Association. He served on the boards of directors of the Erie County Council for the Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, the Schofield Residence, Coordinated Care Management Corp., and Presbyterian Homes of Western New York. He was also president of the board of directors of the Western New York chapter of the American Heart Association, which named him Man of the Year in 1987. Dr. Glen Gresham passed away February 24^th, 2016.  He was 84.