Richard C. Christensen, M.D. Visiting Lecture Fund

“…the practice of medicine is a moral endeavor that is grounded in a covenant of care.” – Richard C. Christensen, MD

A professor of psychiatry at the University of Florida, Richard C. Christensen, MD, MA, made it his life’s work to provide psychiatric services to underserved populations. As director of behavioral health services at the Sulzbacher Center in Jacksonville, he oversaw clinical services in two psychiatry clinics, participating in psychiatric street outreach work and teaching medical students and resident physicians. He was awarded UF COM’s highest teaching honor, the Hippocratic Award, as well as multiple exemplary teacher awards. Every day he treated those most ignored by society and made his patients and those around him truly feel his words, “I see you, I hear you, you are not invisible.”

Dr. Christensen died unexpectedly on November 26, 2015 while on a Habitat for Humanity build in Zambia. Each year, we honor and celebrate his extraordinary legacy through the Richard C. Christensen, MD Memorial Lecture & Advocacy Day. Support for this fund helps keep his legacy alive.