Students Honoring Jim Vick With Pancakes For Parkinson’s Event (Watch)

By Tim Taliaferro in Blog on April 12, 2011 at 1:14 pm | 1 Comment

Among the many beloved faculty members at The University of Texas, there may be no one more admired or cherished than Jim Vick.

The former vice president for student affairs has taught math at UT since 1970, and he long since became a student favorite. He retired as VP for student affairs to go back to teaching math and spend more time writing and with family.

In 2008, Vick was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects one in 100 people over age 60 and about 1 million people in the United States.

On April 20, a campus organization known as the Student Round Table, which is made up of officers of UT spirit groups, is hosting its first-ever Pancakes for Parkinson’s event in honor of Vick. Pancakes for Parkinson’s was started in 2004 by a University of Virginia freshman and has since spread to universities around the country.

“We heard about Pancakes for Parkinson’s and really wanted to do something UT-style,” says John Fitch, one of the organizers. “We thought there’s no reason a UT event couldn’t be just as successful.”

Throughout the day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m, organizers will be serving pancakes on Gregory Plaza and asking for donations. Funds raised will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

People who live or work downtown or in the campus area can order pancakes and have them delivered by student groups, including the Texas 4000 cycling team, using a service called Ticketbud.

Alumni or friends outside Austin who can’t attend can donate through longhornsp4p.com.

Watch the moving video above featuring Dr. Vick reciting his poem “P.D. and Me.” You can also read a Q&A (below) The Alcalde did with Dr. Vick when he retired as VP for student affairs in 2005.

Photo by Marsha Miller, UT Public Affairs