Urologist Stanley J. Kandzari, M.D., retires after 54 years with WVU

Stanley J. Kandzari, nicknamed “Coach,” will retire after 54 years at the West Virginia University School of Medicine in what's now known as the Department of Urology. The 87-year-old Granville, W.Va. native has helped countless patients, served in various administrative roles, mentored medical students and trained over 100 residents during his time with the department, earning professor emeritus status.

Dr. Kandzari graduated from the WVU School of Medicine in 1963. He then completed one year in the surgery program at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two weeks before starting a urology residency at the University of Pittsburgh, he was drafted to serve in Korea with the First Cavalry Division. After 13 months overseas, he returned to finish Army medical service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He started his residency at WVU in September 1966.

“I felt honored to be on the Urology faculty at WVU Medical Center. At national urologic meetings, I always wore the WVU logo on my sportscoat. Fellow urologists knew I was a true West Virginian,” Kandzari said. “I will miss working in the operating room, it’s one of the places where I felt most relaxed. I will also miss treating patients in the clinic and seeing their satisfaction with a good result. I was motivated by seeing how happy patients were when we were able to positively improve their health. That gave me great satisfaction.”

Education is another aspect Dr. Kandzari will surely miss. He loves to see how far resident trainees progress over their years in the program and end up as skilled, competent physicians who can perform a comprehensive set of procedures.

He established the “Coach Stanley Kandzari Fund for Resident Education,” which continues the department’s educational mission. He also keeps in touch with many of the residents he’s taught, whether they stay in West Virginia or practice elsewhere.

“It’s impossible to measure the ways in which Dr. Kandzari has positively affected our residents, our patients, and our department” said Stanley Zaslau, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Urology. “When we talk about being a true Mountaineer, embodying all those values-advancing education, healthcare, and prosperity for all, Kandzari lives that mission each and every day. He’ll be sorely missed.”

Kandzari’s nickname comes from two former residents: Dr. Tom Walsh of Erie, Pa., and Dr. Ron Cercone of Pittsburgh, Pa.

“I’d tell them, ‘do this, don’t do that. You need to do this; you need to watch that.’ And Dr. Walsh, a resident at the time, said, ‘You’re like a coach, telling us what to do.’ So, most residents know me by Coach and many of my patients know me by Coach.  It’s nice because some patients can’t remember Kandzari, but many of them remember the name Coach.”

Dr. Kandzari mentioned he will continue to find ways to keep himself busy after retirement. He looks forward to having time to visit family, prepare lectures, teach and work outside on his property and garden.