Dr. Marc Gellman truly bleeds orange and green.
Dr. Gellman, a retiring Psychology Research Professor, now designated as a Research Professor Emeritus, recently celebrated more than 50 years at the University of Miami. He is looking forward to a slower pace of life, but will not ever forget his time at the “U”.
Dr. Gellman grew up in Freehold, New Jersey, but after visiting Florida several times with his family, he knew the University of Miami was where he wanted to study. Dr. Gellman started his undergraduate career at the University in the fall of 1970, a year after he spent a transformative experience attending the Woodstock Music and Art Festival. With a new perspective of peace on his mind, Gellman began his freshman year determined to study human behavior and enrolled in the psychology program.
Dr. Gellman was originally drawn to Woodstock because he wanted to see his favorite musicians perform, like Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and Sly and the Family Stone, among others. While attending Woodstock he witnessed many people using marijuana. Many years later he stated that it was the calming effects of marijuana, that he believed kept Woodstock a peaceful and successful event. And as a high schooler already interested in psychology, biology, and chemistry, Woodstock inspired him to study how drugs affect behavior.
Dr. Gellman completed his undergraduate education with a psychology major and a biology minor. After a few gap years, he started looking for a graduate program and found his way back to the University of Miami and enrolled in the University’s graduate psychology program.
“Once you take a step on the sands of Miami Beach, you can never get all that sand out of your shoes,” Dr. Gellman said as he reflected on the reasons why he decided to return to Miami and the “U”.
During his graduate career, Dr. Gellman was mentored by Dr. Neil Schneiderman, Professor of Psychology, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, and Public Health. Dr. Schneiderman encouraged an interdisciplinary approach to research. Dr. Schneiderman was one of the founders of the newly emerging fields of Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, that Dr. Gellman studied.
After earning his doctorate, Dr. Gellman spent two years as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine and then was hired as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology. Drs. Schneiderman, Gellman, and other faculty from the Department of Psychology, and the School of Medicine established the Behavioral Medicine Research Center on the campus of the School of Medicine, giving faculty and graduate students access to populations for their research projects.
Dr. Gellman greatly enjoyed teaching classes in the Department of Psychology and conducting research funded by the NIH with Dr. Schneiderman. One of his favorite classes to teach throughout his time at the University was “Drugs and Behavior”.
“A 40-year run teaching the “Drugs and Behavior” course is one of my proudest achievements as a member of the Psychology Department,” he said. “Interacting with the UM undergraduate students provided me a sense of purpose and joy.”
Combining his experience in teaching this class, along with his experience attending Woodstock led him to participate in the interdisciplinary course, “The Sixties,” which was developed by Dr. Zack Bowen from the Department of English and Dr. Donald Spivey from the Department of History. This course has been taught at UM for the past 20 years. One of Dr. Gellman’s fondest memories at the University was being part of this course.
Dr. Gellman retired with a surplus of funding from NIH that will continue to support the projects he has shaped and passed on to the next generation of researchers.
“I have decided that now is a good time to step away from work and enjoy other hobbies and aspects of life,” Dr. Gellman said. “I will remain a Hurricane Lifer and look forward to the day when our football team is again national champions. GO CANES!”
Newly Retired Professor named Research Professor Emeritus of Psychology
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL 33124
305-284-2211