A teacher and a mentor
By Karen Rhodenizer
Arnold S. Bleiweis, Ph.D., a graduate research professor emeritus in the College of Dentistry who retired in 2003 after serving UF for 35 years, passed away Dec. 16 following a brief illness.
He was one of UF’s most outstanding and successful researchers, and was known as a dedicated, effective teacher and mentor of graduate students and junior faculty throughout his career.
“Arnie had a delightful sense of humor, was always in a positive frame of mind and was admired by everyone he worked with. We all knew him as a man of high integrity, with excellent judgment and a quiet, confident manner. His loss will be felt by many in our college and throughout the dental and research worlds, and he will be missed,” said Teresa A. Dolan, D.D.S., M.P.H., professor and dean of the college.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1937, Bleiweis earned his doctorate in microbiology in 1964 from the Pennsylvania State University. He joined UF in 1967 as an assistant professor with the Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences. In 1986, he joined the UF College of Dentistry as professor and chair of the department of basic dental sciences and was appointed a graduate research professor in June 1989. He also served as chair of the department of oral biology from January 1986 through August 2001.