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Profiles in Giving: UI Carver College of Medicine
Donald and Judith Beisner |
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"Our nation's most important infrastructure isn't made up of roads and sewers and bridges," says Donald Beisner (1964 M.D., 1970 R.). "It's our educational system, from our elementary schools through our universities." Now Beisner, a retired ophthalmologist, and his wife, Judith (1961 B.A.), are helping to bolster that educational infrastructure by giving to the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine (CCOM). Most recently the Beisners, of Springfield, Missouri, worked with the UI Foundation to establish the Judith (Gardner) and Donald H. Beisner, M.D. Professorship for Vitreoretinal Diseases and Surgery. The Beisners are funding their endowed professorship through both outright gifts and a bequest. The outright gifts allow the college to immediately put the professorship into effect, with the bequest completing the endowment of the position when the Beisners pass away. The bequest, made with a portion of the Beisners' retirement assets, is part of the couple's overall estate planning. The deferred commitment enables the Beisners to have a major impact on the UI Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences -- which Donald Beisner credits with giving him the education he needed to launch his successful career -- while in the short term helping the UI reach its $1 billion goal in the Good. Better. Best. Iowa comprehensive campaign. "I got a terrific education at a great price," says Beisner, a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa. "Ophthalmology at Iowa has always been strong and the retina service, led by Dr. Robert Watzke when I was a resident, was especially strong. It's time to give back." The Beisners' support for the UI's CCOM extends beyond their professorship. Since 1999, the Beisner Scholar Awards have been helping CCOM students with the ever-increasing financial burdens of medical school. "Excellence breeds excellence, and mediocrity breeds mediocrity," Beisner points out. "Judy and I hope our scholarships can attract very well-qualified students to Iowa. And we challenge today's students, when they're able, to in turn help future students receive an education." In addition, the Beisner Lecture Halls in the Bowen Science Building offer students and faculty an exceptional educational environment. There are three Beisner halls, one named in memory of the Beisners' daughter, Sarah, who died in 1989; another in honor of Dr. Watzke; and a third in honor of Bruce Spivey (1959 M.D., 1964 M.S.), another former UI teacher and mentor for Dr. Beisner. "The lecture halls when I was a student were a shame, like giant pits," Beisner remembers, explaining his motivation for funding the Beisner Lecture Halls. "These new spaces have Internet access and more. What great places in which to teach and learn." The Beisners have witnessed in their own lives the effects that a stellar education can have on individuals and on their ability to be of service to their professions and communities. By giving to the UI and CCOM -- in addition to gifts to Iowa State University, the public schools in Cedar Falls, and other educational initiatives at all levels -- they're doing what they can to keep that educational foundation secure and strong. As Donald Beisner points out, that's the kind of bridge -- leading to the betterment of future generations -- that is the true backbone of society.
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