|
GALVESTON, Texas –
Alumni, friends and foundation officials reached even deeper into their
pockets to show their appreciation for the University of Texas Medical
Branch at Galveston by providing $35.3 million in cash contributions in
support of UTMB’s educational, research and clinical care programs during
the 2000 fiscal year, a nearly $10 million increase over last year.
The $35.3 million was
$17.2 million more than 1998 fiscal year gifts.
Approximately 26
percent of the $1.1 billion UTMB budget is funded by state general revenue,
while 64 percent comes from earned income. Grants and gifts generously given
by foundations, corporations and individuals fund the remaining 10 percent
of the budget.
The Sealy and Smith
Foundation has epitomized this increased level of giving by contributing
more than $23 million during the 2000 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31. A
major UTMB supporter, the foundation increased its giving significantly over
the previous year and contributed to numerous programs, including the Acute
Care for Elders Unit at John Sealy Hospital, computer-enhanced robotic
surgery, the radiology department and the Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory. The
12,000-square-foot facility, scheduled to open in 2002, will help scientists
study infectious diseases that have no prevention or treatment.
The foundation has
also offered a major challenge grant to the Blocker Scholars Initiative.
Named after Truman Graves Blocker Jr., the first UTMB president, the
objective of the $5 million Blocker campaign is to create a distinguished
chair for the director of the M.D./Ph.D. program at UTMB and generate
stipends for some of the country’s most promising young physician-scientists
through university and clinical student fellowships. For every $4 raised for
the initiative, the foundation will contribute $1 to establish a
Distinguished Chair in Translational Research for the director of the
M.D./Ph.D. program.
In addition to
support from the Sealy and Smith Foundation, the academic health science
center received $12 million in cash contributions and $19.1 million in cash
and pledges for the 2000 fiscal year. Cash contributions were up by 16
percent, while cash and pledges jumped 57 percent over the previous year.
Susan Coulter, vice
president for university advancement, said the fund-raising results are a
testament to UTMB and its supporters.
“This accomplishment reflects the energy of volunteers, the generosity of
many benefactors and the hard work of the faculty and staff; it’s something
in which each of us can take pride,” Coulter
said. “It demonstrates the strength of our
faculty, scientific endeavors and education. In a time when the competition
for philanthropic dollars is increasing, only the best programs are
successful in attracting significant private support.
“UTMB’s fund-raising
success may be linked to our volunteers and development board as well,” she
added. “They’ve been very effective in opening doors to foundations and in
championing our cause.”
Coulter also lauded
Dr. John D. Stobo, UTMB president, for the high priority he has placed on
the importance of gaining philanthropic support and the time he has devoted
to advancement activities. “The relationships he has developed with alumni,
foundations and other leaders throughout the state have added greatly to our
success,” she said.
The following are
just some examples of the many bountiful commitments made to UTMB during the
2000 fiscal year:
·
Board members of the Nelda C.
and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation pledged $1.5 million for the development
of the Stark Center for Excellence in Diabetes Care. Educational resources,
innovative programs and increased clinical staff will be offered at the
center to help patients and their physicians throughout southeast and east
Texas.
·
With a $1 million
contribution, the Welch Foundation established a chair in chemistry, the
second endowed chemistry position at UTMB from the foundation. UTMB is one
of only three academic health science centers in the state that have two
Welch chairs.
·
A $500,000 grant from the
Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation funded the
incorporation of the tools of structural biology to bear on infectious
disease research at the Center for Tropical Diseases and the Sealy Center
for Structural Biology.
·
Houston Endowment Inc. board
members gave $750,000 to incorporate telehealth into the Regional Maternal
and Child Health Program. The foundation also contributed $250,000 to the
Cognitive Rehabilitation Initiative.
·
The Moody Endowment committed
$500,000 to create the Russell Shearn Moody Distinguished Chair in Cognitive
Rehabilitation.
·
The Harris and Eliza Kempner
Fund trustees pledged more than $380,000 to support various programs, such
as the Learning Through Community Service program in the Occupational
Therapy Department and the summer science camp for Galveston County
children. The trustees established the Fannie Kempner Adoue Distinguished
Professorship in Cognitive Rehabilitation, named after the grandmother of
Kempner Fund board chair Robert Lynch. The fund also contributed to support
end-of-life care, the Jeane B. Kempner Fellow Fund and the Blocker Scholars
Initiative.
·
The M.D. Anderson Foundation
committed $280,000 to the Blocker Scholars Initiative.
For more information
about contributing to UTMB, call the Office of University Advancement at
(409) 772-3950. |