A Newsletter for Friends and Alumni of the University of Washington
News Stories

School of Public Health and Community Medicine Receives First-Ever LIfe Income Gift

Waldo Libbey’s memories of his mom’s cousin, Alma Barto Howard, were limited to two visits she made back east from Seattle, where she’d graduated from the University of Washington in 1917.

He was surprised, therefore, to be remembered in her estate when she died at age 90 more than a decade ago. “I was shocked,” says the retired University of Maine engineering professor, “but I guess blood really is thicker than water.” Through smart investing, he was able to increase the value of his inheritance six times over. The result, he decided, should go back to Miss Howard’s alma mater.

“In as much as she had honored me by remembering me in her estate, I thought it fitting that her name would be marked in perpetuity at the University by establishing an endowment in her name,” says Dr. Libbey. He recently established a charitable gift annuity that ultimately will support students in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine’s Health Sciences division.
The first-ever life income gift to the School will support its mission of educating students to solve regional public health problems in their communities. “I’m happy to do it,” Dr. Libbey says, “and I think Alma would be pleased.”

For more information on planned giving, visit www.uwfoundation.org/ways_giving/planned_gift.asp.

Above Image : Alma Howard, pictured at right, became an x-ray technician after graduating from the UW; her technician certification is shown at left.

Endowed Fellowship in Music Honors Noted Musicologist

UW Professor Emeritus Cornelius Peck and his wife, Gloria (‘75), are recognizing excellence in scholarship with an important gift to the UW School of Music. By increasing their support of an endowed fund in musicology that they established in 1997, they have created a full fellowship in memory of their daughter, Adelyn Peck (‘81, ‘83).

“We are deeply touched that Cornelius and Gloria Peck have chosen to honor the School of Music with their enlightened support,” says Robin McCabe, director of the school. “The Adelyn Peck Endowed Fellowship will make possible the recruitment and retention of gifted graduate students in musicology who will surely be inspired by Adelyn’s legacy of exceptional scholarly attainment.”

Adelyn’s career in music began with piano studies at the Peabody Conservatory. After earning two master’s degrees at the UW — one in piano and the other in music history — she earned master’s and doctorate degrees in musicology from Princeton University. She completed her dissertation research in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar and became an assistant professor of musicology at the University of Michigan and Harvard University before her untimely death in 1997 at age 41.

For more information about the School of Music, visit www.music.washington.edu.

New Fund Brings UW Ideas to Market

A joint venture between the University of Washington and the Washington Research Foundation (WRF) will give entrepreneurial UW researchers the means to market their leading-edge technologies.

The Technology Gap Innovation Fund (TGIF), created through a $250,000 gift from the WRF and royalties and licensing fees generated by UW TechTransfer, will support further development of University innovations with commercial potential and enhance the University’s ability to license and create start-up companies based on UW technologies.

A long-time partner and supporter of the UW, the WRF helps Washington state research institutions capitalize on emerging technologies through intellectual property management and start-up investment activities. “I think this fund can help create and enhance UW intellectual property,” says WRF president and CEO Ron Howell. “I hope that it increases our choices for thinking about startups.”

Projects currently slated for TGIF support include a virtual simulator to train new surgeons, a non-invasive device for monitoring cardiac arrhythmia, and simulation software designed to give high school students true-to-life experiences in the electoral and legislative processes.

UW-licensed technologies, research, and creative talent have been the catalysts behind more than 195 start-up companies to date, adding hundreds of high-paying jobs, both in Washington state and across the nation.
For more information on the TGIF and UW TechTransfer, visit www.depts.washington.edu/techtran.

Return to June 2005 Campaign Newsletter

New Campaign Adds to Student Support

Every day, University of Washington faculty inspire students and improve their lives by giving them the gift of knowledge. Now, a new initiative is providing UW employees a means to increase permanent support for students while honoring the faculty and staff who contribute to the University’s excellence.

The Faculty, Staff, and Retiree Campaign for Students (FSRCS) allows qualifying contributors to name an endowment in honor of an outstanding faculty member or esteemed colleague, says Alvin Kwiram, UW chemistry professor and FSRCS spokesperson.

Contributions may be directed to a particular campus, school, college, department, or program of study. Even better, the program leverages individual contributions of $5,000 or more with matching gifts from the University on a one-to-one basis up to $10,000.
“Students are the heart of this institution, faculty the spirit,” Kwiram says in encouraging his colleagues to support the initiative. “What better way to enhance the value and legacy of both than through student fellowships that honor our distinguished faculty?”

For more information about the FSRCS, please call 206-616-6914.

Husband and Wife Dentists Pledge Support to School of Dentistry

Pledging more than a quarter of a million dollars to your alma mater may seem ambitious to most people, but not to Bryan (‘72, ‘76) and Linda (‘73) Edgar. The husband-and-wife dental team, co-chairs of the School of Dentistry’s fundraising campaign, pledged $250,000 to the School in November for an endowed professorship in implantology. “We get a kick out of making something happen, making a difference,” says Linda.

Ten years ago, a $250,000 gift seemed out of the question for the Edgars, but together they have found creative ways to give and inspire others to do the same. Consider the Edgars’ “crown a month” concept — each month they “gift back” the financial equivalent of one crown to the UW. “I wasn’t aware that you could pledge a large gift and pay it incrementally over a long period of time,” Linda says. “By donating $1,000 each month for five years, that gift quickly grows to $60,000!”

As dental professionals and UW alumni, the Edgars feel impelled to give back to their alma mater. “We all have budgets, but we all need to give back to the school that taught us our skills,” says Linda. “It’s important to us, too, that our donations are enough to make a difference.”

For more information on the School of Dentistry, visit www.dental.washington.edu.

Image Above: School of Dentistry Campaign Committee Co-chairs Bryan and Linda Edgar.

New UW Medicine Facilities Expand Ability to Heal

A cure for cancer just might be located in the heart of Seattle. Nora Disis, M.D., and her colleagues are working on developing a vaccine to prevent breast and ovarian cancer relapses. The good news? The vaccine can stimulate the immune system. The great news? It’s a step toward preventing cancer from returning after diagnosis and treatment.

Disis’s lab is one of the first tenants at UW Medicine’s Lake Union campus. In addition to providing much-needed lab space, Lake Union allows Disis and her colleagues to collaborate with scientists from other disciplines — at UW Medicine and with other biotech powerhouses located nearby.

Lake Union’s potential for healing is enormous. So is its economic potential. The National Science Foundation estimates that biotechnology and related fields will account for $1 trillion of the country’s economy in 2020. As Alan Frazier, the managing partner of Frazier Healthcare & Technology Ventures and a national investor, says, “The stakes for Seattle to remain competitive as a world-class life sciences-biotech center are incredibly high.”

Frazier has joined Orin Smith, Scott and Laurie Oki, Susan and Jeff Brotman, KeyBank, Safeco Insurance and others in contributing to building lab space at Lake Union — and in making sure that UW Medicine and Seattle remain competitive in attracting scientists like Disis.

“Investing in biotech isn’t just philanthropy,” says Jeff Brotman, chairman of Costco and chair of the UW Medicine Campaign. “It’s good business.”

For more information on UW Medicine, visit www.uwmedicine.org.

Image Above: Nora Disis, M.D, associateprofessor of medicine in Medical Oncology,pictured at left with colleague Lupe Salazar, M.D., acting instructor in oncology.

Return to June 2005 Campaign Newsletter