University of Michigan Medical and Nursing School - Aequanimitas Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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t lf fe an 'QM' M Charles L. Votaw, Associate Professor ofAnatomy Born October ll, 1929 A.B., Hope College M.D,, Ph.U., University of Michigan lnterned at St. Josephs Ann Arbor Crosby Award

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3.3 Anatomists are well known for their agil- ity in using colored chalk as a teaching aid to describe anatomical sections, but few lecturers can draw vertical lines and infuse into them such electricity and meaning as Dr. Charles Votaw, Associate Professor of Neuroanatomy. He is a concise lecturer, his thoughts flow slowly. directed toward build- ing Z1 firm foundation of knowledge. Upon this foundation in neuroanatomy the student then begins to build a good understanding of the related clinical subjects of neurology and neurosurgery. CHARLES L. VOTAW Dr. Votaw is extremely likeable and eas- ily approached by virtually all medical stu- dents, frequently spending many hours past the lecture hour with students, answering questions or straightening out their confu- sion. Yet, he requires his students to know the subject material or at least use his intel- lectual resources to attempt to understand it. Students who come to him with questions will find that they are not allowed to take a passive role in obtaining an answer, but rather, under Dr. Votaw's guidance, they will search out the answer with their own newly acquired knowledge. Dr. Votaw has a bold faith and respect for the medical student, who, he feels is an individual having the necessary ability to learn and synthesize that information which will make him a good physician. He feels the student must be allowed to use those particular means which help him learn best, even if it means attending fewer lectures. lt is Dr. Votaw's hrm belief that the medical faculty's primary purpose is to maintain the motivation and energy that the students bring to medicine, Qand so easily lose by their senior year-author's notej. This goal Dr. Votaw has partially met as evidenced by the success of the Neural and Behavioral Science course in the new curriculum, which came into being under his leadership. This course gives to medical students an oppor- tunity to correlate basic science knowledge with the patients clinical problems. By so doing, it motivated the class of '71 to ask for more training in neuroanatomy. Very few students trained under the old curriculum would have been interested enough to have made such a request, This response is fur- ther evidence of Dr. Votaw's success as a teacher. gjoe l.ucz'an0

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The Elizabeth Crosby Award for l968 was given posthumously to Gerald Lee Brody, our pithy, urbane pathology profes- sor. A peek at his dossier would show that Dr. Brody was an Ohio product, having grown up and attended schools in that state CCase and Oberlin Colleges, Western Re- serve Medical Schoolj. Internship, surgery and pathology residencies were taken here and only six years lapsed from their comple- tion to his appointment as Associate Profes- sor in 1966. His papers and addresses numbered over two dozen. But these facts do not reveal the reasons why he received the Crosby Award nor why, when leafing nostalgically through this yearbook in future years, these pictures will immediately release a cascade of vivid images inthe minds ofthose who were lucky enough to have undergone the personal experience oflearning from him. A student's first reaction to his oratory was one of abso- lute amazement and sheer terror, but soon an unbounding admiration crept in-and stayed. The result was that a measure of tension crackled the air about him and because of this, his lectures kept us 'on our toes', producing an increased sense of awareness so that the content of his lessons were crystal clear, instantly recalled later, if necessary. on the ward. The laboratory is where he gave his most stirring performances, though, because a situation more closely resembling a dialogue existedfalbeit rather one-sided. The usual student response to a question ran the gamut from red-faced silence to the irra- tional. Now and then an inspired soul would rise and argue, much to his class- mates' glee. But taking a stand without a tight, logical defense was unpardonable in Dr. Brody's book, and like Icarus, the higher a student flew the further he fell, for Dr. Brody's wit was liberally laced with scorching sarcasm. Our late mentorls committment to honesty was even more forcefully brought to bear on other staff members, especially in his CPC discussions. He did not tolerate the wishy-washy think- ing that resulted in faulty diagnosis or treat- ment. This is not to imply that humor never crept into his talks, indeed no. xjests, puns, and rib-tickling stories and jokes split the air in a continuous stream . . . I see him now ,... pacing through the laboratory, gesticulating dramatically while quoting Cyrano de Bergerac and thumbing his gen- erous nose at all sacred cows . . . There the imagery ends, as abruptly as his life was terminated. -Tim Burton