Giving Back

Charles R. “Bob” Kaelin, M.D., says higher education wasn’t a given when he was growing up in southwest Jefferson County.

“My father had an eighth-grade education and my grandfather finished fourth grade,” he says. “When I got to the University of Louisville, I wasn’t sure I belonged here.” 

The graduate of Valley High School ended up earning three degrees from UofL and going on to practice as a successful orthopedic surgeon who gives back to the profession through teaching, research and service.

Now he’s giving back to UofL. His $500,000 gift to the School of Medicine —which will help create the anatomy laboratory of the future (see story on Page 19) — is partly inspired by Professor Richard Rink’s belief in his abilities.

That belief, Kaelin says, was instrumental to his success in medical school.

Kaelin finished his undergraduate degree in less than three years while working to support himself and playing tenor sax in the pep and jazz bands. Upon graduation, he applied to medical school but was told that he was too young.

Someone suggested that he get a master’s degree in anatomy, which would give him a head start on his medical education while he was waiting to turn 21.

“Dr. Rink didn’t judge me — he let me see what I could do academically,” Kaelin says. “At that moment, where I was on the edge of giving up on my education, he helped me and gave me the confidence to succeed.”

Rink’s encouragement was well-placed. Kaelin went on to graduate from the School of Medicine in 1982, complete an internship at Wayne State University and a residency at Orlando Regional Medical Center in Florida, where he served as chief resident.

As a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, he is a nationally recognized instructor and a director at Tennessee Sports Medicine Orthopedics.

His gift gives a big boost to UofL’s anatomy curriculum, providing funds to begin a major renovation of the laboratory designed to integrate the technologies that students will need to know as physicians and dentists practicing in today’s world of three-dimensional and cross-sectional imaging.

“Gross anatomy is the defining course of medical, dental and physical therapy education,” says School of Medicine Dean Edward Halperin, M.D., M.A.

“It is the first place that the medical student comes to understand his or her own mortality, responsibility for the care of a human being, working in teams and professionalism.

“As physicians, we don’t necessarily remember who our partners were in biochemistry or on our cardiology elective, but we can usually list our partners in our gross anatomy course.”

Kaelin agrees, asking that his gift also honor the memory of Louisville family practitioner John Patrick Casey, M.D., a classmate who passed away in 1990 and whose encouragement he cites as another key to his own success.

“We had a lot of camaraderie,” Kaelin says. “It was a team and everyone helped those who needed a hand.

“I want to honor and encourage that spirit here at UofL and show students who don’t think that education is an option what you can do if you believe in yourself.”