Celebrating the Robert Oneal Collegiate Professorship in Plastic Surgery

Dr. Izenberg had the pleasure
of announcing Dr. Oneal.

On Thursday, September 27^th friends, family and colleagues celebrated the inauguration of the Robert Oneal Collegiate Professorship in Plastic Surgery.  The first recipient was Paul S. Cederna, M.D. The event took place at the Taubman Research Building and the speakers included; James O. Woolliscroft, M.D., Dean, U-M Medical School, Michael W. Mulholland, M.D., Ph.D., Chair, Department of Surgery, William M. Kuzon Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Reed O. Dingman Collegiate Professor of Plastic Surgery, and Paul H. Izenberg, Adjunct Clinical Instructor Section of Plastic Surgery.  

Dr. Izenberg, who met Dr. Oneal in 1969 as an intern in surgery at Michigan, was honored to make his introduction. He summed up his speech by saying; "Many professors leave an indelible mark in surgery by writings and research. But others leave indelible marks by being a special teacher and mentor to those whom they helped train. The University of Michigan Department of Surgery, Section of Plastic Surgery, has been privileged to work with such a professor who has successfully done both. Today we honor Dr. Robert M. Oneal with a well deserved named Collegiate Professorship. Congratulations Bob!"

It was a pleasure to hear Dr. Oneal reminisce eloquently about his career, the mentors that influenced him and the students he loved to teach over the years. He mentioned how the support of his family, colleagues, partners and countless staff members allowed him to flourish as a surgeon and have such a successful career.  Dr. Oneal established a private practice at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor in 1969 and was eventually joined by many partners over the next 40 years including; Dr. John Markley, Dr. Paul Izenberg, Dr. David Hing, Dr. Richard Beil and Dr. Daniel Sherick. Every partner, including the most recent addition to the practice he founded, Dr. Ian Lytle, has had the privilege of training under Dr. Oneal. Although he retired from the Center for Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery in 2006, his legacy lives on with the surgeons he trained striving to live up to his expectations of excellence. 

Thanks to the support of his family Dr. Oneal  built a susuccessful
career as a plastic surgeon.