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2003 Carver College of Medicine student scholarship awards luncheon
Posted November 19, 2003
IOWA CITY -- On Friday, October 31, 2003, during the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine's fifth annual Scholarship Recognition Luncheon, scholarship benefactors and recipients gathered at the Levitt Center for University Advancement to meet, interact, and learn more about the value of student aid. "Thanks to support from generous contributors, the college has added outright and deferred gift commitments totaling nearly $3 million in 2003 alone," said Jean Robillard, dean of the college. "This represents a 50 percent increase over 2002 gifts, bringing the college's total student aid endowment to just over $9 million in progress toward our current campaign goal of $22 million." Additionally, the college recently established the goal of creating its first-ever, full-tuition medical student scholarship. Robillard noted that offering such scholarships will give the college a powerful recruitment tool that will help to diversify the student body and add another mark of prestige for the college. A full-tuition medical scholarship requires an endowed fund of at least $500,000. Following Dean Robillard's remarks, attendees listened to comments from Dr. Donald H. Beisner of Springfield, Missouri, who received his M.D. degree in 1964 and his M.S. degree in 1970, both from the UI. A gift from Beisner and his wife, Judy, in 2000 created an endowed scholarship fund for outstanding students in the college, one at each grade level of medical student education.
"Judy and I wanted to pave the way for medical students," said Don Beisner. "Practicing medicine is the most honorable profession in the world -- our gift is simply our way of giving something back to that profession." Attendees heard from two UI medical students who spoke on the meaning of scholarships in their pursuits of medical degrees. "Acquiring debt can be stressful," said Jenny Butler, who will graduate from the college in May 2004, with hopes of becoming a rural family physician. Butler was the recipient of the Elizabeth Smith Kennedy Medical Scholarship, the Hoyt Scholarship, and the Midwest Dairy Scholarship. "Scholarships are a huge benefit -- they allow me to concentrate on my work. They also allowed me to choose my specialty for the right reasons, instead of worrying about the debt I would otherwise be accumulating."
Brad McClimon, a fourth-year medical student and recipient of the Louis P. Alt Scholarship, added, "State funding to our universities is declining. Scholarships are very beneficial and mean that we don't need to worry about paying the next bill. I wouldn't trade my experience at Iowa for anything."
Additional images from the October 31 ceremony:
Raising $142 million for scholarships and other forms of student support is a major goal within the UI's $850 million comprehensive campaign, which will run through 2005 and is being conducted under the guidance of the UI Foundation. Named Good. Better. Best. Iowa: The Campaign to Advance Our Great University, the seven-year effort is raising private funds to help launch a variety of initiatives across the University, substantially increase the number of UI scholarships and endowed faculty positions, support new educational and research facilities, build the UI's endowment and fund outreach and service programs to benefit Iowans. The UI Foundation is acknowledged by the UI as a preferred channel for private contributions that benefit all areas of the university. For more information about the Good. Better. Best. Iowa campaign, visit its web site at www.GoodBetterBestIowa.org. Contact Information
Carl Bendorf Additional information about ways to support the UI Carver College of Medicine also is available on this site. |
