Although her photos are in black and white, Nancy S. Bowman still remembers the pink and gray decor of the UF Teaching Hospital's opening ceremony about half a century ago.
Bowman, 59, recalls the ceremony's sleek style, but as the hospital's first patient, she remembers how doctors cured her high fever when she was 9 years old.
"At 9 years old, I didn't have any idea of the impact," Bowman said of the 1950s ceremony. "They thought it would be neat for a little girl to get all the attention. I knew it was a special day."
Bowman stood in the reception hall of the Hilton UF Conference Center on Saturday night among sounds of clinking glasses and ambient jazz for the Shands 50th Anniversary Gala.
About 300 people attended the kick-off campaign to raise $55 million for the Shands at UF Cancer Hospital. The evening also marked 50 years of Shands at UF with Shands HealthCare.
"We've celebrated the 10th anniversary, the 25th, the 30th," Bowman said. "Shands has changed incredibly."
Although they haven't totaled the amount raised during the event, about $27 million was raised before the evening began, said Margaret Friend, director of special events for Shands.The 192-bed center has been under construction since January 2007 and will open to patients in November 2009, Friend said.
A couple of UF athletic coaches were on hand to congratulate Shands for its milestone and to be honored for their contributions to the hospital's development.
UF men's basketball coach Billy Donovan appeared in a special video at the ceremony to honor Shands physicians, caregivers and volunteers.
Mark and Mary Wise, honorary co-chairs for the Raising Hope Cancer Campaign, received the Family of the Year Award for the work they have done for the center.
During the reception, the inaugural W.A. Shands Lifetime Achievement Award was given to former UF President Marshall Criser.
Criser said in an interview he would hold a number of regional meetings around the state until money for the center is raised.
"I'm honored and very thankful that I've had the opportunity over the years to work for Shands and for UF," he said.
Criser, who graduated from UF with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1949 and a law degree in 1951, was president from 1985 to 1989.
He said much has changed since he walked the halls as a student, he said.
UF has grown from 10,200 students to more than 50,000 in the years since.
Criser said his proudest achievement of his tenure was getting UF into the Association of American Universities, its current peer group."I couldn't have found a better vocation in my life," he said.
