Gifts for Good
Your donations to For All We Call Mizzou go beyond campus to improve the world in which we live. Your dollars create a ripple effect that starts with students and rebounds around the globe. Here are a few of the projects your support made possible.
Resolving disputes
MU's Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution is nationally recognized for its pioneering and creative work in the area of dispute resolution. A gift of $100,000 from Geoffrey Oelsner Jr. will fund one or more annual awards to full-time students or faculty members at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa, who wish to participate in MU's master of laws in dispute resolution program. In 2004, the MU School of Law established a study abroad program with this historically black university. The Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution was established in 1984 to promote greater understanding of conflict in society at large.
Improving children's lives
Autism is a brain disorder that affects one child in 166. “We are committed to improving lives,” said Chancellor Brady Deaton when he announced an $8.5 million gift from William and Nancy Thompson to address autism by establishing the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. The Center will integrate autism research, service and teaching. “Our charge to MU is to make a difference in the study of autism … so that when a child is diagnosed with autism, his or her family has well-founded hope. We feel strongly that success should be measured one child at a time,” Thompson said.
Informing citizens, serving democracy
A $31 million gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation will augment MU's nationally renowned School of Journalism to provide research and development in new technology, citizen forums and media trends. The gift makes possible the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. According to Dean Mills, dean of the School of Journalism, the Institute will “help journalists better serve democracy, and help citizens better understand how journalism works.”Mending limbs
An estate gift of $550,000 from Michael, MD '69, and Krystyna Clarke created the Michael S. Clarke Professorship in orthopaedic surgery. The professorship will attract outstanding faculty to make an already growing department bigger and better, benefiting future physicians and their patients.Keeping jobs at home
A $1 million gift from SBC Communications Inc. will help establish a new information technology degree program in the MU College of Engineering. The advanced training made possible by the gift is designed for students interested in digital media, networks, wireless technology, information systems and computer systems management. Cynthia Brinkley, BJ '91, president of SBC Communications, said, “All of Missouri benefits by having a work force educated for high-tech jobs.”Keeping pets healthy
Dental disease in pets can lead to heart, liver and kidney damage, resulting in a shorter life span. A $76,000 gift from Pfizer Animal Health, the largest animal health company in the nation, resulted in a new laboratory to train students and vets in dental care for animals. The lab is the only one of its kind in Missouri, and one of just a handful in the nation.Training future physicians
A $2 million gift from Dr. Hugh and Sally Stephenson and a major gift from Dr. Gene Schillie to MU's School of Medicine will attract quality faculty and promising students while upgrading the caliber of training for future physicians. The Stephenson's gift will endow a deanship for the school, and can be used to support teaching, research or faculty recruitment. Dr. Schillie's gift will help fund the proposed Health Sciences Research and Education Center, a $180 million project to educate doctors for the 21st century.Instilling community service
The children of Judy Wagner always admired their mother's commitment to community service. When she passed away in 2000, they started a scholarship fund in her name to reward students who show a strong sense of service to the community. Applicants for the scholarships are rated on their academic standing, school-related activities and volunteer experiences.Turning dysfunctional into functional
The Joanne Hook Dean's Chair in Educational Renewal is improving the way teachers teach to maximize student performance. The Hook Center for Educational Leadership and District Renewal expands the concept of education management to revive ailing school districts. Harold, BS BA, '53, M Acc, '54, and Joanne Hook, BS Ed '55, provided a $2 million gift to enable MU's College of Education to focus on preparation of leaders for schools.Filling a need
Ray Holman, BS BA '64, established a scholarship fund for accounting students who need financial aid. Holman, who retired as chairman and CEO of Mallinckrodt, Inc., said, “I wanted to make a gift to provide resources for more underprivileged students so they can become educated and increase their chances of enjoying the same kind of career success.” Roger and Sandy Vasey founded the Vasey Academy at the College of Business in 1997 for minority students to learn about business and the economy. Students who are accepted into the Academy receive a $1,000 scholarship and meet with faculty members to explore career opportunities in business. Roger Vasey, BS BA '58, concluded his career as one of the top executives at Merrill Lynch.Finding a cure for breast cancer
Margaret Mulligan, a Columbia businesswoman and breast cancer survivor, was grateful for the medical care she received from MU physicians. To show her gratitude and help others battling breast cancer, she established an endowed chair in breast cancer research and pledged an estate gift to support a breast cancer research program. Dr. Paul Dale, who holds the endowed position, is studying ways to detect cancer cells earlier with laser technology, and to destroy cancer cells with radiation delivered internally.Finding a cure for arthritis
Two gifts will bring the Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory closer to finding a cure for arthritis. Robert and Judi Reeves provided $320,000 to establish an endowment in arthritis diagnostics, with an aim of finding a way to halt or cure the disease before its effects are irreversible. The Iams Company gave $461,203 to the lab to fund a research assistant professor who will focus on understanding and diagnosing arthritis toward finding a cure. Iams, a leading provider of pet foods and pet care products, was attracted to the lab's research because of its use of in vitro models for studying osteoarthritis. It is a method that avoids the use of research animals while still offering useful, relevant and timely data.Training Doctors
Dr. Russell Shelden spent 25 years training future anesthesiologists at the MU School of Medicine. When new technology made that training easier, he donated $2.3 million to make it available to medical students, residents and other health services professionals. The Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Clinical Simulation Center will feature three lifelike mannequins that can simulate 73,000 physical responses.
