The Department of Psychiatry was established in 1958 under the leadership
of Dr. Peter Regan as part of the newly developed College of Medicine.
That first year outpatient and inpatient clinical psychiatry services
were initiated and a general psychiatry residency was established. In
1960, the Division of Child Psychiatry was added, and the Child Psychiatry
Fellowship soon followed. In 1964, Dr. Robert L. Williams succeeded
Dr. Regan as Department Chairman.
In 1967 the Gainesville Veterans Administration Hospital was completed
as a Dean’s Committee hospital, and its psychiatric service was completely
integrated with the Department of Psychiatry.
In August 1974, Dr. John E. Adams became Chair of the Department of
Psychiatry. Since then our constant aim has been to provide a broad
educational experience in a multi-faceted program with its hub centered
in a major academic medical center. Dr. Adams passed away in 1989
and this effort continued under the leadership of Dr. John M. Kuldau
who served the Department as Interim Chair from 1989-1992.
In 1992, Dr. Dwight Evans left the University of North Carolina to
assume the chairmanship at the University of Florida. Under his leadership,
the department underwent tremendous growth in its research infrastructure,
moving to a position of national recognition. After five years at
the helm, Dr. Evans returned to his home state and became chairman
of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.
In
October 1997, Dr. Wayne Goodman, who was was recruited to the University
of Florida in 1993 from Yale University, selected as Interim Psychiatry
Chairman. Following a national search, Dr. Goodman was appointed Chairman
of Psychiatry at the University of Florida in July 1998. Despite the
challenges facing academic medicine – psychiatry and the other
cognitive specialties, in particular – the last few years have
been a period marked by growth and development in the three central
missions of clinical care, research, and education of the Department
of Psychiatry at the University of Florida. Much of the credit goes
to the talented and dedicated faculty and staff who share the vision
of seeing the Department shine as a star in the southeast.
