Daniel L. Kline, Ph.D.

Daniel L. Kline was the fifth of seven children, born in Philadelphia in 1917. Neither of his parents had a college education and they lived in a poor section of the city. Although Kline had bad eyesight as a child and needed strong glasses, he was an avid reader and excelled at school. Because of his academic talent, he was promoted two grades and graduated from high school when he was 16 years old. He worked for several years to save money for college and chose Purdue University because he could (and did) receive free tuition if he maintained an A average.

Kline graduated from Purdue University in 1943 and received his Ph.D. in Physiology from Columbia University in 1945. He became a faculty member at Yale's College of Medicine in 1949 where he stayed until 1966. He was a noted teacher in the department as well as a highly regarded researcher. In 1954 he received worldwide recognition when he purified plasminogen.

In 1966 he became chairman of the Department of Physiology at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine where he taught nurses, medical students and graduate students. As he noted in 1983 when he stepped down as chairman, "Today (1983) as I prepare to turn the department over to Dr. Nicholas Sperelakis, I can count more than 50 Ph.D.'s who graduated during my 17 years as chairman. Income from grants increased from zero to nearly $1,000,000 per year, and the faculty has grown from 4 to 14. Last year the medical course in Physiology received the highest rating by students of any first year course." From 1984-1987 he wrote an in-house newsletter to promote small class teaching techniques and to bring the various departments at the school in closer contact.

Kline believed strongly in nurturing his staff, initiating a once-a-week luncheon meeting, open to all faculty and students in the department. He was able to help his faculty get important funding, served on committees to help minority students enter and graduate from the medical school, and was a voice of sound advice to all that knew him. Employees revered him, from his long- time secretary to the Dean of the Medical School.

Upon retirement, he continued his wide-ranging interests by writing a layman's biography of Thomas Young, the scientist who first deciphered the Rosetta Stone. In the 1990s, he became very interested in the recent developments in brain research. With his usual interest and knowledge, this led to co-teaching a ten-session course on that subject in 1996 with Vern Auchtman to those at the Learning In Retirement Program at the University of Cincinnati. He continued his fascination with the question of what is consciousness by meeting with others equally interested on a regular basis and corresponding with scientists and philosophers on the Internet.

Daniel L. Kline remained alert, curious, and well loved until he died in 2000. His family and friends are honored to sponsor educational opportunities for U.C. students in his name.