Statement from the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Training and Sports Medicine Programs

We mourn the loss of a giant at the University of Pittsburgh, Freddie Fu, MD, DSci (Hon), distinguished service professor, David Silver Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the School of Medicine, and head team physician for the Department of Athletics passed away. Dr. Fu will be remembered as a man who gave the full measure of himself in everything he did. He was a pioneering physician who advanced the treatment of knee and shoulder injuries. He was a larger-than-life mentor to an entire generation of medical students, residents and fellows who have strengthened his legacy by leading programs of their own nationally and internationally. He was a passionate philanthropist who, along with his wife Hilda, supported many organizations and causes in the Pittsburgh region and beyond that have had a lasting positive impact on the lives of people from all walks of life. Most important to him, Dr. Fu was a man devoted to his wife, his children and his grandchildren.

For those of us in the Athletic Training and Sports Medicine programs, Dr. Fu served as an unparalleled champion of a profession he has done so much to expand and grow. Every athletic trainer in western Pennsylvania in particular, and across the country, owes a debt of gratitude for everything Dr. Fu has done to elevate the profile of athletic training and promote the value of certified athletic trainers in settings previously unimagined or underappreciated, including the performing arts, sports medicine clinics and secondary schools. He served as head team physician for the Department of Athletics and medical director for the Athletic Training Education Program since 1986. During that time he facilitated an unprecedented learning environment that fostered the professional development of hundreds of young athletic trainers who benefitted from his vision of the University of Pittsburgh as a worldwide leader in Sports Medicine. A scholarship in the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition that bears Dr. Fu’s name supports the academic, clinical and research achievements of undergraduate and graduate students annually and reflects their commitment to excellence, a quality so synonymous with Dr. Fu.

He is a treasure to all of us as a man of honor and distinction, irreplaceable as a tireless advocate, and sorely missed as a human being who gave all of himself to make each of our small pieces of this world a little better. Our condolences to your family Dr. Fu and may you rest in peace.