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$25 million
gift funds Holden Cancer Center at University of Iowa
Posted September
1, 2000
A landmark $25 million gift from four generations
of the Holden family of Williamsburg, Iowa, will provide unprecedented
support for cancer research, education and treatment at the University
of Iowa.
In recognition of this gift, UI officials will request approval from the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, at their September meeting for the naming of the Holden Cancer Center at the UI. The family's gift, through the UI Foundation, also supports the Roland and Ruby Holden Cancer Research Laboratories in the UI's new Medical Education Research Facility, now under construction on the UI health sciences campus.
This announcement is the second major milestone the cancer center has
achieved in 2000. In July, the UI was recognized as a National Cancer
Institute-designated center, one of only 60 in the nation to receive
this prestigious recognition of excellence in research and patient care.
The Holden family gift honors the late Roland W. Holden, who died in
1995. Holden founded Holden Foundation Seeds Inc., a corn seed research
and genetics company based in Williamsburg, Iowa, 30 miles west of Iowa
City, in 1937. His family chose to celebrate his legacy by supporting
research and treatment that may eventually cure the disease that took
his life.
Contributors to the $25 million gift are Ruby Holden of Williamsburg;
Ronald, Arlene, and Kathy Holden of Williamsburg; Susan and David McCurry
of Coralville; Karol Holden of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Mary Ann and
Curtis Blythe of Williamsburg; and the Roland and Ruby Holden Foundation.
Ruby Holden commented that her "family is extremely grateful for the
care given to Roland during his battle with leukemia, especially to
Dr. Raymond Hohl, who was his chief physician. Since Roland's death
we have followed the work of Dr. Hohl and other researchers at The University
of Iowa and we are very impressed with the results of that work and
the opportunity to bring a broader range of treatment therapies to the
people of Iowa.
"It is with great pleasure," she said, "that we make this gift in an
effort to sustain the ongoing work and hopefully expand it at an even
faster pace. We appreciate the dedication and leadership exhibited by
President Coleman, Dean Kelch, Dr. Weiner, Michael New, Carol Jefferson
[Holden Cancer Center Director of Development] and so many others in
making The University of Iowa a world-class cancer research facility."
UI President Mary Sue Coleman said that with this gift, "the Holden
family is making an enormous difference in the lives of all Iowans affected
by cancer. The compassion that the Holdens have exhibited with this
tremendous contribution will allow our researchers and physicians to
make significant advances in our fight against cancer."
This gift, the largest ever received for UI health care initiatives,
will support a full range of critical programs within the cancer center.
For 20 years, the UI's cancer center has brought together cancer researchers,
physicians and other health care professionals to provide nationally
recognized patient care and collaborative research projects.
"In addition to being a leader in cancer research, we offer state-of-the
art, compassionate treatment for our patients and train the next generation
of cancer researchers and clinicians," said Dr. George Weiner, director
of the Holden Cancer Center. "In order to fight cancer most effectively,
we need to bring these diverse activities together in a manner that
makes the whole greater than the parts. This landmark gift from the
Holden family helps assure that we are able to do just that, not only
now but also well into the future. It is a gift from four generations
of Holdens to future generations of Iowans."
The Holdens' $25 million gift will be used to support the following
cancer center initiatives:
- The building and equipping of the Roland
and Ruby Holden Cancer Research Laboratories.
- Endowed funds that will finance cutting-edge
research, new cancer investigators and studies that translate laboratory
discoveries into innovative patient treatment options.
- Support for the UI Palliative Care Service,
a team of nurses, social workers, chaplains and physicians that assists
terminally ill patients and their families. This interdisciplinary
program provides emotional and spiritual support, and help in planning
for care outside the hospital, as well as pain control and symptom
management.
- Continued development of the Roland W. Holden
Family Program for Experimental Cancer Therapeutics, which explores
new cancer therapy approaches through laboratory and clinical trials.
Dr. Raymond Hohl, the Holden Cancer Center's associate
director for clinical research, said that patient-based clinical research,
which the Holdens' gift supports, is critical for a cancer center. "The
university is fortunate to have many investigators that are pursuing innovative
approaches to treating cancer in the laboratory," he said. "The Program
for Experimental Cancer Therapeutics allows these novel approaches to
be made available for patients with cancer. This translation of laboratory
investigations to patient care is one of the most exciting features of
a university-based cancer center. The Holdens' gift ensures that laboratory
and clinic-based cancer investigations will continue to complement each
other."
The Holden family gift will benefit generations of patients and families
through its support of research aimed at the causes of and cures for cancer,
said Dr. Robert P. Kelch, dean of the UI College of Medicine. "The facilities
and resources the Holdens have given to the cancer center will bring genesis
to solutions, treatments and cures that today we can only imagine. The
cancer research their gift supports will be a critical part of the global
effort to understand and eradicate this array of diseases," he said.
UI Foundation President Michael New said that the Holden family's gift
to the UI places them among the UI Foundation's most generous contributors.
"What distinguishes the Holden family is their determination to share
their resources with other families in Iowa and nationally confronting
cancer. Their gift is one of the largest ever received by the UI Foundation,
and its impact on our cancer center will be dramatic," said New.
The Holdens' gift is part of a planned effort by the UI and UIF to advance
the UI's strategic goals for the years 2000-2005. Other key goals include
substantially increasing the number of UI merit- and need-based scholarships,
as well as the number of endowed faculty chairs and professorships; providing
support for eight new educational and research facilities; funding outreach
and service programs to benefit individuals, families, and communities
throughout the state of Iowa; building the UI's endowment; and launching
new initiatives in the arts, sciences, business, health care, and other
fields.
The UI Foundation is the preferred channel for private contributions to
all areas of the university. Foundation staff work with alumni and friends
to generate funds for scholarships, professorships, facilities improvements,
equipment purchases, research and other UI initiatives.
Contact Information
Michael
New
President, The University of Iowa Foundation
(319) 335-3305 or (800) 648-6973
Additional information about supporting the Holden
Comprehensive Cancer Center also is available on this site.
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