Dean's Message

Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, The John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean

In a few months we will formally announce The Bicentennial Campaign for the University of Maryland School of Medicine. As you can tell by the title, this fund raising effort coincides with our 200-year anniversary celebration in 2007. It is my hope that you will participate in this noble undertaking and invest in our next generation of discovery.

Capital campaigns are nothing new to our medical school. In fact, the very first campaign was spearheaded by a handful of faculty members in 1811, just four years after the school’s founding. Unable to secure state funding, Dr. John Beale Davidge and his colleagues raised enough through private contributions to purchase land and erect a medical building on Lombard and Greene streets. It wasn’t easy. These visionaries were fighting popular will, as most people were opposed to the use of cadavers as part of a formal medical education. As a result, most of the required $40,000 came from Dr. Davidge and his colleagues. So, it is appropriate that our 1812 medical building carry the name of our founder, dean, and the first true philanthropist of the University of Maryland.

The effort to construct our hospital in 1823 occurred under similar circumstances. The nation’s four medical schools that were founded before ours placed heavy emphasis on classroom instruction. Our founders believed it was equally important that students rotate through local hospitals. Again, after being turned away by elected officials as well as the banks, Dr. Granville Pattison convinced his faculty colleagues to dig deeper into their pockets. The infirmary was constructed and furnished at a cost of $16,000, and today our medical school is recognized as the first in the country to construct its own hospital for clinical instruction.

As we approach our 200th anniversary, advancing medical education and biomedical research and improving the quality of medical care is equally challenging. At the core is our ability to recruit and retain a first-rate faculty. Securing endowed professorships will ensure that our next generation of students have the benefit of learning from the likes of Drs. Theodore Woodward, Frank Calia and Marshall Rennels.

All the strategic initiatives of this campaign are illustrated in a case statement that you will be receiving in the near future. Representatives from my office, together with alumni, faculty, and friends will be personally following up to encourage your support.

Several alumni have already stepped forward, as more than $95 million has been received in gifts and pledges since we began the silent phase of the campaign in July 2002. We are pleased to report that 39 donors have made gifts of $500,000 or more.

Cash gifts are the most common, but there are a number of viable alternatives for you if cash is not an option at this point in your life. Income producing gifts, such as charitable trusts and annuities, are ways to avoid capital gains from the sale of appreciated securities and real estate. Many of your colleagues have taken advantage of these gifts by converting low-paying Certificates of Deposit and U.S. Treasury Notes. Providing for the medical school in your will is another option.

Gifts of $10,000 and above qualify you for membership in the John Beale Davidge Alliance, our permanent recognition society for the school’s most generous donors. This spring we welcomed our 650th member.

The development office and medical alumni association will be happy to answer any questions you have about making a gift to the campaign. If you live in or around Baltimore, please arrange a visit to campus. It would be a pleasure to show you around, as I’m sure you’ll be fascinated by the growth that has taken place in recent years. Please join us in following in the footsteps of Dr. Davidge and help provide for the next generation of physicians.