On Jan. 11, UF College of Medicine Dean, Michael Good, MD, announced to the
UF Department of Urology Faculty that Interim Chairman, Thomas Stringer, MD, and his wife Leah Stringer had made a $350,000 gift to the department.
The gift was a culmination of deep loyalty and commitment for a department that Dr. Stringer guided as chairman over the last year. However, Dr. Stringer’s love for the department stretches further back – from the time he was resident at UF Urology (1977-80).
“Our division chief, David Drylie, led by example and taught us as residents to proudly give back to our profession,” Dr. Stringer said. “I have tried to model him and served, as he did, as the President of the Florida Urological Society and subsequently as President of the Southeastern Section of the AUA.”
Dr. Stringer is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the AUA as well as President of the UF Department of Urology Alumni Society, the UroGators. Once he completed his residency, Dr. Stringer maintained close ties to the program. After starting a private practice in nearby Citrus County, he was recruited as a clinical adjunct professor and participated in resident education and surgical training at the VA for more than 30 years.
“I was part of every resident class graduation and every departmental event throughout those years,” Dr. Stringer said. “When I decided to accept an offer to return full time as medical director five years ago, it became a full circle. The faculty and residents welcomed Leah and me with open arms. From day one as a full-time faculty member, I felt needed, respected and fulfilled.”
Dr. Stringer said that the ongoing positive relationships with the former and current residents and faculty, departmental staff and the leaders in the College of Medicine continue to “highlight my every day.” The gift is one of the largest ever made by a sitting Chair at UF. During the announcement, Dr. Good led a champagne toast to Dr. Stringer.
The endowed gift will go toward helping provide funds in perpetuity for all UroGators Alumni activities such as the annual Drylie, MD, Visiting Professor weekend each fall and the UroGator gatherings that take place at national and regional Urology events.
“The opportunity to lead and guide the UF Department of Urology, to recognize and be part of its proud history and then to contribute to its glorious future is an unanticipated and humbling honor.”
If you wish to make a gift to add to the UroGators Alumni Fund in honor of Dr. Stringer,
please contact Ted Kruljac at (352) 273-9059.
