Dr. Myron Fottler

Sarasota - Dr. Myron David Fottler of Sarasota, Florida died on May 18th at Sarasota Memorial Hospital - Venice. The cause was heart failure. He was 85.

Myron David Fottler was born in Boston and grew up in Wollaston, the oldest son of Myron Dustin Fottler and Anna (Curley) Fottler He attended Massachusetts Fields elementary and Central Junior High before graduating from Archbishop Williams. He earned an undergraduate degree at Northeastern University, a MBA at Boston University and a Ph.D. at Columbia University in New York. It was while he taught at SUNY Buffalo that he met his wife Carol Szczepaniak who was a history teacher at the time.

Dr. Fottler was a lifelong college academic with most of his career spent at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) where he was Professor and Director of the Ph.D. Program in Administration-Health Services. He chaired 21 doctoral dissertation committees and served as a member of 28 others.

His research interests included all aspects of human resources management, and he was honored with achievement awards from the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Association of Medical Administrators and the Healthcare Management Division of the Academy of Management. Dr. Fottler was a founding co-editor of an annual research volume titled Advances in Health Care Management. Dr. Fottler was the author and co-author of 28 books on health care management.

When Dr. Fottler retired from the Alabama State system, he moved to Florida where he became Executive Director of Programs in Health Services Administration in the College of Health and Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida in Orlando where he was tasked with establishing the graduate program in health administration and achieving full accreditation for that program from the Commission on Accreditation from the Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, which he did. After fourteen years at UCF he fully retired as Emeritus Professor to Sarasota to be closer to family. His hobbies were tennis, being a member of a Great Decision group, jazz and world-wide nature travel.

Dr. Fottler was predeceased by his wife Carol in 2017. Surviving him are his brother Robert (Marsha) Fottler of Sarasota, sister Marilyn Mahoney of Hanover, Massachusetts and several nieces and nephews.