Parker A. Small, Jr., M.D., Professor of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics

Even though Parker A. Small Jr., M.D., recently retired after 37 years, he’s not leaving UF — just reducing his workload. When his wife, Natalie S. Small, Ph.D., pointed out that he had 16 current projects, he vowed to reduce the list to seven for his new position as professor emeritus.

Known for research on the structure of antibodies and on influenza — five of his first 20 published articles appeared in the journal Science — Small’s greatest impact may have come from his teaching innovations. He developed the Patient-Oriented Problem-Solving program, used by more than half of U.S. medical schools, and created similar health-education programs that have reached more than 500,000 middle- and high-school students. He also introduced medical student peer evaluation.

He received Alpha Omega Alpha’s Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award in 1993, the UF Teacher/Scholar of the Year award in 1988 and the UF President’s Humanitarian Award in 1996. He was the College of Medicine Basic Science Teacher of the Year in 1979.

In May, while receiving the college’s first Lifetime Achievement Award for Medical Education, Small commented, “My position here has brought me much satisfaction and happiness. In fact, had I been independently wealthy I would have paid for the opportunity to do this work.”