Profiles in Giving: College of Dentistry

Janet Hawkins
Iowa City, Iowa

For Janet Hawkins, using her financial resources now to guarantee income for the rest of her life -- and then to help create educational opportunities for young people -- is just the way things ought to be.

That's more than just a saying -- it was a prophecy of sorts, left behind by Janet's father, that has come true.

Her father, Samuel Johnston, graduated from the UI College of Dentistry in 1918 and practiced in Oskaloosa, Iowa. In 1925, when Janet was just four years old, he died during surgery at the UI.

Janet never really knew her dad, but she held on to some things from his dental office, including a Billiken -- a clay figurine popular in the early 20th century that represented "the god of things as they ought to be."

A few years ago, Janet asked Bill Windauer, the director of development for the College of Dentistry, if he might want the Billiken and other memorabilia from her dad's office. They struck up a friendship, and Janet went on to honor her father's memory in the college in an especially significant way -- by creating the Dr. Samuel Johnston Dental Scholarship and the Dr. Samuel Johnston Student Fellowship.

"It gives me a wonderful peace of mind," Janet says, "to remember my father this way and to be sure that my estate will be used in a way I believe in."

Janet created this Iowa legacy through the UI Foundation using a charitable gift annuity (CGA). Through this simple contract with the UI Foundation, the CGA provides guaranteed income to Janet and up to one other annuitant for the rest of their lives.

When all annuitants have died, the remainder of the gift will be used in perpetuity precisely as Janet has directed. By using a CGA, Janet is able to do well now -- by receiving guaranteed income and potentially significant tax advantages -- and do good later for The University of Iowa.

Janet also used her CGA to establish the Harry H. and Janet J. Hawkins UI Scholarship, to be used to assist deserving students throughout the University. Harry Hawkins was Janet's husband, an engineering consultant who died in 1997.

"He was a brilliant man," Janet says, "who couldn't go to college because of the Depression. If only he could have had a scholarship like this. Now others will be able to get a good education."

Harry and Janet lived for years in Cedar Rapids and had a wonderful life together, including taking eight trips in retirement to England and Scotland. Now, with the help of gift-planning specialists at the UI Foundation, the money they saved has created a lasting and meaningful legacy.

No one will ever know for sure whether it's because of her father's Billiken that things have worked out so well for Janet in remembering her loved ones this way, but one thing is for sure -- for Janet, this is clearly as things ought to be.

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