UF trustee endows professorship to improve health care

October 18, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A gift of $2 million from Dr. Steven and Rebecca Scott will endow a professorship in the University of Florida’s department of chemistry to help UF scientists develop advancements that will improve health care for all people.

The Boca Raton couple hopes the professorship will also boost UF’s standings, making the university’s department of chemistry one of the best in the world. Scott has been working in the health profession for almost 35 years as a physician, professor and administrator. He is currently chairman and president of the entrepreneurial medical investment company Scott Holdings, LLC.

“UF can lead the way for others in innovation and discovery for the betterment of our world,” Scott said. “I hope this professorship encourages The Gator Nation to understand how exceptional the department already is, and encourages others to give their time, wisdom and money to continue that excellence.”

Rick Yost, head of the analytical division of UF’s department of chemistry, said the professorship is an important step in UF’s efforts to increase research and enhance teaching in that area. The university — which already produces more doctoral degrees in chemistry than all but two other universities in the nation — is planning a new 100,000-square-foot Chemistry and Chemical Biology Building that will include state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms.

“Chemistry is positioned to have enormous impact on human health in the next generation, and UF is well-positioned to play a major role in that direction,” Yost said.

Scott, a member of the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees, said he and Rebecca are “eager to do as much as we can to help UF” because the research and teaching at the university is crucial to the state and nation.

Scott received his medical degree from Indiana University Medical Center and completed his residency training at the Duke University Medical Center. He is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The founder of the nationwide HMO Vista Health Plan, he has served on advisory boards at Wake Forest and Duke universities. Scott continues to serve as the assistant consulting professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke. Three of his and Rebecca’s five children are UF alumni.