Tom LeClair

I've been in the healthcare industry since 1975 when I joined the Army to be trained as a Combat Medic and Surgical Trauma Specialist. After 3 years on active duty, I went into the Army Reserves while attending the University of Illinois at Chicago. Fortunately, the old G.I. Bill and Illinois Veteran's Scholarship opened doors for a great educational opportunity at UIC. One of my first classes to make an impact was Polictial Science; another veteran and I demonstrated leadership during a full week simulation of the 1980 policital convention. The professor was impressed with the outcome we engineered and I ended up in his office - on the 28th floor of the university's administrative building. It turns out Professor Johnson was also the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs overseeing the integration of the UIC Medical Center's Academic Programs and the UIC Circle Campus. When asked about my academic plans, I told him I wanted to pursue health sciences and promotion (this was before HMOs) and that turned out to be the "phrase that pays". Dr. Johnson gave me an unrestricted 'academic hall pass' to take both undergraduate and graduate classes. The G.I.Bill/Veteran Scholarships allowed me to take as many classes as I could handle per quarter (12 hours was considered full time - I averaged 20-24/quarter) and Dr. Johnson's "Academic Hall Pass" made it possible to attend Medical, Dental, Pharmacy and Nursing classes along with several Graduate level Education and Communication courses in a Self-Designed Health Promotion Program over and above the Secondary Education Teaching Certification from the College of Health, Physical Education & Recreation.

Throughout my time at UIC, I was still serving in the US Army Reserves with the 801st General Hospital. I developed several Independent Study Programs for which I got course credits from UIC as I designed, developed and implemented numerous programs submitted and accepted by the U.S. Army Reserves Medical Education and Staff Development Command.