Dr. Mark Fleisher has retired from the UNMC Department of Psychiatry, but the adult psychiatrist isn’t disappearing from Poynter Hall.
On July 1, 2020, Dr. Fleisher was named Professor Emeritus at UNMC. While Dr. Fleisher will no longer be a full-time faculty member and clinician, he will be busy.
“Within UNMC I continue to be a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) that oversees human research for UNMC and UNO,” Dr. Fleisher said. “I’ve had different positions within the IRBs for more than two decades. Within the department, I’m chairing the history of the department project committee and am a scientific internal reviewer for protocols our faculty submit to the IRB.”
Dr. Fleisher will be available for discussions with other providers who are continuing his clinical work with patients with developmental disabilities (IDD), oncology, and solid organ transplantation. Additionally, he will be involved with the peer support program during the COVID 19 crisis and will continue to perform peer reviews for journals and other projects.
Nationally, Dr. Fleisher will still be involved to varying degrees with the APA, the NADD (a professional organization for IDD), and AOA.
“I’m still trying to sort through nearly thirty years of memories, papers, and other items, all of which seem to be very, very important although there is no uniform agreement on that thus it is a major undertaking,” Dr. Fleisher said. “I might consider writing again and small woodcraft projects.”
Dr. Fleisher graduated from UNMC in 1987 and joined the faculty in 1991. Early on, he credits the Department of Psychiatry chair Dr. Frank Menolascino for mentoring him as a student and new faculty member. Unfortunately, Dr. Menolascino died in 1992.
As someone who has been treating patients for 33 years, retirement wasn’t an easy decision.
“I felt relieved at having made the decision however, I was naturally concerned about my patients and in some cases their families, some of whom I had been treating for more than two decades,” he said.
Dr. Howard Liu, Chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry, calls Dr. Fleisher a true champion for individuals with intellectual developmental disorders and developmental disabilities.
“We can’t thank Dr. Fleisher enough for his remarkable legacy of service to our department,” Dr. Liu said.
I am so honored I had the chance to work in Psychiatry that led me to meeting Dr. Fleisher. He is truly a brilliant, compassionate man. In the five years I have worked with this group I have heard (and seen) nothing but wonderful things from his coworkers and patients alike. His patients and their families absolutely adore and appreciate him.
Thank you Dr. Fleisher for your leadership and wealth of knowledge and my most favorite, your amazing sarcastic humor!