“Willie established a legacy not just
with us students, but with the faculty and
administration. He established a commitment
to diversity that continues today,” Lofton says.
After a career spanning three decades,
Sanders retired from UF in 1989 as a tenured
associate professor of anatomy and cell biology.
In 2010, following treatment for bladder cancer,
Sanders was told he only had a few weeks left
to live. His family organized a celebration of
his life, held on the UF College of Medicine
campus. More than 400 family members,
friends, colleagues and former students
attended the ceremony.
James Patrick O’Leary, MD ’67, executive
assistant dean of clinical affairs at Florida
International University’s Herbert Wertheim
College of Medicine, spoke at the celebration
about his relationship with Sanders, both as a
student in the mid-’60s and as a fellow faculty
member years later.
“Will Sanders was a critical part of how the
medical school became an internationally
known institution,” O’Leary says. “He was an
incredible resource, and he should be honored.”
One month to the day after the celebration
of his life in 2010, Sanders passed away at age
81. Today, Sanders’ legacy continues at the UF
College of Medicine in part through the Willie J.
Sanders Scholarship Fund. Established in 2012,
with early contributions from alumnae like
Donna Baytop, MD '76, and Renee Blanding, MD
'88 (see Blanding story on page 36), the Sanders
scholarship supports students committed
to making a contribution to a pluralistic
community and a diverse student body. The
fund has accrued more than 100 donors who
have given more than $250,000 to students.
“I know my dad’s legacy lives on. His students
continue to give back to UF because of what
my dad meant to them,” Pringle says. “My
dad advocated for his students, and he
was relentless in the work he did for
others. I want future generations
to know what my dad meant
to his students of all races and
backgrounds.”
Paula Pringle holds a photo of her
father with UF College of Medicine
graduate James Patrick O’Leary taken
at a celebration honoring Sanders
shortly before his death in 2010.
Bill "Willie"
Sanders:
A Lifetime
of Breaking
Down
Barriers
PHOTO BY GIULIANO DE PORTU, MD
1929
Born in Fort Motte,
South Carolina. 1957
Hired as an anatomy lab tech
at UF College of Medicine,
preparing cadavers for
medical instruction.
1962
One of the first six black
students accepted to the
UF undergraduate program.
1968
Promoted to associate professor
of gross anatomy, becoming the
first black faculty member at the
UF College of Medicine.
1970
Received his bachelor’s degree
in mathematics from UF.
1989
Retired from UF as a tenured
associate professor of anatomy
and cell biology.