CARING FOR THE FUTURE

Gifts will benefit health sciences students and patients

An increase in private investment over the past year is expanding educational opportunities for health sciences students at East Carolina University and improving quality of care for patients.

Through January 2016, the ECU Medical and Health Sciences Foundation has received gifts, pledges and commitments totaling nearly $10.2 million, compared to $4 million at the same time in the previous fiscal year. This includes more than $5 million in bequest commitments from those who included the university in their wills.

These gifts will go toward scholarships, professorships, research and patient care. As a result, more students will be able to pursue health-related degrees at ECU, units will be able to recruit and retain top faculty for teaching and research, and patients will have access to expanded services and high-quality care.

“We are so grateful for the generosity of our donors who are helping us improve health care in North Carolina and beyond,” said Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Chris Dyba.

“People are becoming much more aware of the quality and impact of our programs and are choosing to invest in health care through their personal philanthropy,” said Mark Notestine, president of the Medical and Health Sciences Foundation.

An anonymous bequest of $2 million to the Department of Psychiatry in the Brody School of Medicine will provide $1 million for an endowed professorship and $1 million for research. This research would develop and promote prevention, early intervention and more effective treatments for mental illness, according to Dr. Sy Saeed, chair of the department.

A bequest of $1 million from an anonymous retired Brody faculty member will support medical students working in the ECU Family Medicine Center on obesity and/or nutrition. The bequest can also be used to support students going on rotations at other medical schools or attending state or national conferences on these subjects.

ECU Family Medicine residency director Dr. Jonathon Firnhaber & resident Dr. Meghan Scott pose outside of the facility. A bequest of $1 million will support medical students working in the ECU Family Medicine Center on obesity and/or nutrition. (Photo by Gretchen Baugh)

Family Medicine also received a significant bequest from Caroline Raby ’70 to be used for scholarships for students pursuing a career in primary care medicine who demonstrate a commitment to service.

More occupational therapy graduates will be able to pursue advanced degrees thanks to a bequest from Randy Strickland ’75 and his wife Laura Ann Schluter Strickland to a scholarship endowment in the College of Allied Health Sciences.

“We have a strong commitment to education and compassion for students with a great need for education,” Laura Strickland said. “Much of Randy’s success he feels was his foundational work at ECU.”

Randy Strickland, who has more than 20 years of experience teaching occupational therapy and serving as an academic administrator, said he wants to improve prospects for tomorrow’s occupational therapy students. “I see how much things have changed since I began practicing. The need will be so much greater in the future,” he said.

The Travis and Cassandra Burt Distinguished Professorship in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at Brody will be used to hire a top cardiologist who can provide expert treatment for patients and educate the next generation of heart doctors.

“The heart center can use these funds to benefit other people’s lives 20-30 years from now,” said Travis Burt, who recovered from a cardiac episode and bypass surgery in January 2013 and set up the professorship with his wife as part of a new grateful patient program.

“I look at it as a hiccup, but I know my family members were worried,” Travis Burt said. “ECU had the expertise, equipment and staff to make me and my family feel as good as possible throughout the whole process. We want to let people know that East Carolina is the best option;people don’t have to go to Raleigh anymore. ECU isn’t just up-and-coming, we’re on top.”

A recent $300,000 gift from an anonymous foundation to the School of Dental Medicine will help provide patient care for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford treatment. It will also give students more opportunities to practice caring for patients as part of their education.

Jackie Jones Stone, left, and her twin sister Jeanette Jones, right, both members of the first graduating class of nurses at East Carolina, recently bequeathed significant portions of their estates to scholarships in the College of Nursing. (Photo by Conley Evans)

Finally, Jackie Jones Stone ’64 and her twin sister Jeannette Jones ’64, both members of the first graduating class of nurses at East Carolina, decided to bequeath a significant portion of their estates to scholarships for undergraduate students in the College of Nursing. The scholarships will be given to students from eastern North Carolina and eastern Virginia with an interest in community health nursing or psychiatric nursing.

“We’re thinking about the future. It’s very difficult for families today [to pay for college] so any little bit we could give, we wanted to do it. It’s the least we could do,” the sisters agreed on a recent visit to campus. “Giving these students a chance, that’s what it’s about. The more scholarships there are, the more attractive a school is. We hope this scholarship can make a difference in one more person studying nursing and being successful at ECU and in their career.”

A recent $300,000 gift from an anonymous foundation to the School of Dental Medicine will help provide patient care for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford treatment. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)