Dr. Zazove is well acquainted with overcoming adversity as a family doctor who has lived his life with hearing loss. He’s had to prove himself repeatedly as someone who is just as competent and capable as someone with no disabilities.
A Trailblazer
This was true from an early age, as he attended public school as a child growing up near Skokie, Ill., to gaining admittance at Rutgers Medical School after countless rejections by other medical schools due to his disability. Despite those ongoing challenges, he was able to establish his own medical practice, first in Utah, and then joined the University of Michigan as a clinical assistant professor in 1989.
Now, after serving as the second George A. Dean, M.D. Chair of Family Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine since 2011, he is ready to retire after a lifetime of impressive achievements.
Ensuring a Legacy
Zazove leaves behind a tremendous legacy as a deaf clinician and researcher. He has tirelessly advocated for health care for people with disabilities and has pushed for changes that have opened access to medical school education to students with disabilities, not only at U-M but across the country.
“There’s so much work to be done in improving the health and lives of people with disabilities – a health issue most of us will have at some point in our lives,” he said.
