Spring 2008: Register

David J. Sencer

Bryan Meltz

Point of Impact

Donors to the University help not only Emory, but also the world beyond

By Jane Howell

Donor Report

Read more of these donors’ stories and see the complete list of 2006–2007 donors at dur.emory.edu/donor-report

Karen Thomisee 07N 08N

Bryan Meltz

Betty and Rev. T. Landon Lindsay 49C 52T

Courtesy the Lindsays

Clyde “Doc” Partin 50C 51G

Jon Rou

William L. Norton Jr. 42Ox 48C 50L

Wilford Harewood/University Photo

At the end of the Emory Commencement ceremony every year, President James Wagner challenges the graduates before him to go into the world to do good, even as they aim to do well. Emory takes on that challenge each day in the work of its faculty, staff, and students. Witness the inspired teaching, exceptional health care, committed service, and path-breaking research that contribute to the University’s impact on the world.

Emory’s donors also have taken up the charge to do good. Their gifts fund enlightening scholarship, one-of-a-kind programs, and even much-needed transportation.

Following are highlights of a few of the generous gifts that have made an impact on Emory’s campus and on the world beyond. Read more of these donors’ stories and see the complete list of 2006–2007 donors at www.emory.edu.

Some of Emory’s donors made an impact by providing others with the tools they need to succeed.

In the School of Nursing, a visionary gift enabled Karen Thomisee 07N 08N and future generations of service-minded students to become nurses for those in need. The Helene Fuld Health Trust gave $5,025,000 to create the Fuld Fellowship Endowment. The fellowship allows students with degrees in other fields and a commitment to social responsibility to train for a nursing career in service to vulnerable populations. “I want to demonstrate that high-quality, evidence-based care can be delivered in low-resource settings,” said Fuld fellow Thomisee.

Inspired by Volunteer Emory, Lauren 83N and Paul Blum 82C made a matching gift of $25,000 so the student organization could buy two minivans for their weekly service trips in the Atlanta area.

When they took their daughter to look at schools, the Blums realized that in the world of 1980s colleges, Volunteer Emory was unique. “You look at colleges today, and it’s a given that there is volunteerism everywhere. But at the time I went to college, that wasn’t the case,” said Lauren. “Volunteer Emory was ahead of its time for establishing a volunteer network for students.”

If it weren’t for the ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation, there would have been an empty chair at the Gordon Research Conference on Catecholamines in Oxford, England, last year. That international audience of scientists would have missed out on Jill Bordelon’s 08PhD data on working memory, which is contributing to the scientific landscape of dopaminergic research.

But Bordelon was able to share her findings at the conference, thanks to ARCS’s support, which last fall gave scholarships of $6,000 per year to nine PhD students in the Graduate School and the Rollins School of Public Health, allowing them to enhance their research in ways that might not otherwise be possible.

T. Landon Lindsay 49C 52T and his family showed that a big impact can be made from a number of smaller gifts. In 1990 the Rev. T. Landon and Betty Lindsay Scholarship was started at Candler as a farewell gift from the church the retiring Lindsay had pastored. To grow the fund, the Lindsays turned to their family. Instead of presents on Christmas and birthdays, “we requested that our four children and eleven grandchildren give money to this scholarship fund, and we would match their gifts,” said Lindsay. The scholarship enables a number of divinity students to attend Candler.

Tommy Williams and his wife, Sabrina, were so impressed with the care he received during his cancer treatment that they were inspired to thank the nurses who had an important role in it. The Williams Family Foundation gave $500,000 to the Winship Cancer Institute to establish the Sabrina Williams Scholarship for Continuing Nursing Education. The scholarship will allow oncology nurses to continue their education, making it possible for future cancer patients at Emory to have the same positive experience as the Williamses.

A group of future business leaders will receive their first experience in the field thanks to Goizueta’s Executive MBA Class of 2003. The class allocated its class gift to Goizueta Pathways, a new program sponsored by the BBA Program Office that provides awareness of the business arena for Emory freshmen, especially those enrolled in Oxford College, who have had limited exposure to business. In the program, students take classes, visit local companies, and are mentored by executives. Says BBA Program Director Andrea Hershatter, “This wonderful gift is an investment in their future that will yield enormous returns.”

Donors also gave to honor those who were an inspiration in their careers.

When Deb Jackson 85C was a student at Emory College, Clyde “Doc” Partin 50C 51G made an impact on her she hasn’t forgotten. Last year she was able to honor him. Jackson, whose friendship with Partin began on the intramural softball field while she was a student, gave $250,000 to endow the director of athletics and recreation position as the Clyde Partin Sr. Director of Athletics.

Partin spent fifty years working at Emory, in roles including athletics director and chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation. “Doc Partin has not only been a positive role model but also a tremendous friend to countless Emory students over the years,” said Jackson.

To honor a man who has devoted his life to public health, the David J. Sencer, MD, MPH Scholarship Fund was established by the Rollins School of Public Health with generous support from Sencer’s son, Stephen D. Sencer. During his career, David Sencer led the nation’s public health efforts as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rejuvenated the New York City Health Department, and served as an international public health consultant. “This scholarship is about his achievement,” said Stephen Sencer, deputy general counsel for non-health care affairs at Emory. “I’m proud of the fact that it reflects the contributions he made.”

Other donors followed the words of Atticus Haygood, former Emory president, “We must stand by that which is good and make it better if we can.” This quote, which appears on the Haygood-Hopkins Gate and on Oxford’s campus, is read by many, but few take it to heart the way Judge William L. Norton Jr. 42OX 48C 50L did. In 2007 Norton received the J. Pollard Turman Award for his service to Emory and promptly gave the $25,000 grant to the Oxford College Board of Counselors Fund, where the money went toward scholarships at Oxford.

C. Robert Henrikson 72L and his wife gave $1 million to the School of Law for the C. Robert Henrikson Endowed Scholarship Fund, which they established in 2001 to enhance the quality of its student body and the professionals it graduates. The Henriksons established the fund so that “in addition to receiving an outstanding education, Emory law students will benefit from an inclusive environment that values diversity and leverages differences.”

For decades the Lewis H. Beck Foundation has provided for the needs of the Emory University Libraries. The foundation’s first gift to Emory was in 1933, when funding for books was limited. In recent years the foundation supported the development of both Emory’s Lewis H. Beck Center for Electronic Collections and the literary collections found in its Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. The foundation has helped Emory develop “preeminent literary collections and innovative digital initiatives,” said Richard Luce, vice provost and director of university libraries.

Donors who support Emory provide a vital resource, extending the University’s reach and helping its community make a difference.