UT Houston 35th Anniversary Event Creates Six Endowments
Dinner honoring President and Mrs. Willerson raises $400,000
By Wendy Mohon and Ina Fried

Special surprise guest Vince Young, former Longhorns quarterback and 2006 NFL Rookie of the Year, presented an autographed football to James T. Willerson, M.D., during the 35th anniversary celebration of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Photo by Richard J. Carson, � 2007

Future students will benefit from endowed scholarships established as a result of the 35th anniversary celebration of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Friends and supporters donated some $400,000 in honor of President James T. Willerson, M.D. and his wife, Nancy, for their contributions to the university and the Houston community. A crowd of 500 gave a standing ovation to the Willersons at the 35th anniversary dinner April 24 at the River Oaks Country Club. The event was sold out weeks in advance � even before invitations could be mailed.

David Grimes, Chair of the UT Health Science Center�s Development Board, announced that proceeds from the event will be used to establish six new President James T. and Nancy Beamer Willerson Endowed Scholarships � one for each of the schools in the UT Health Science Center. A special allocation will also go to the UT Medical School�s existing Doris Simon Endowed Scholarship, awarded by the Faculty Wives and Women Faculty organization, to which Nancy Willerson has contributed many hours of her time.

School Deans Grateful for Scholarships
The President James T. and Nancy Beamer Willerson Endowed Scholarship in the School of Health Information Sciences (SHIS) represents the first endowed scholarship for SHIS. The newest school within the health science center, SHIS was established 10 years ago.

�As a small, newly created school with just 100 alumni, we have been unable to make long-term scholarship plans based on a predictable funding flow,� said SHIS Dean Jack W. Smith, M.D., Ph.D. �This is very important to us in that we would like to be able to commit to full scholarship funding for outstanding Ph.D. candidates in biomedical and health informatics who are receiving such offers from rapidly expanding departments within medical and nursing schools around the country. An endowed scholarship fund will enable us to compete more effectively for these students who may then decide to remain here for their postdoctoral work or as leaders in our clinical community.�

Smith noted that many young medical and nursing school graduates are interested in adding health informatics to their knowledge base, but wind up graduating with so much debt that �they are reluctant to take on additional education-related expenses. The stable funding flow from an endowment would enable us to plan to support a number of such students each year. It will also mean that some of our part-time students could count on scholarship support and become full-time students, gaining knowledge and experience that will benefit patients and health care more rapidly.�

The Dean of The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Giuseppe N. Colasurdo, M.D., also says that scholarships are attractive incentives to recruiting top-performing students.

�Scholarships such as these are critical enablers to student recruitment, especially considering the high cost of medical education and the length of training required,� Colasurdo said.��If we can limit the debt our students incur, we will enhance our ability to attract the diverse and talented student body we seek.

�I am extremely grateful to all who contributed to the scholarships in honor of the Willersons.� We expect that we will be able to offer the first President James T. and Nancy Beamer Willerson Endowed Scholarship of approximately $3,000 to an entering medical student in the summer of 2008.�

Surprise Guest
A highlight of the evening was the introduction of special surprise guest Vince Young, former Longhorns quarterback and 2006 NFL Rookie of the Year with the Tennessee Titans. Young presented an autographed football to Dr. Willerson, an avid UT athletics fan. Before graduating Phi Beta Kappa from UT Austin, Dr. Willerson lettered three times as a varsity swimmer.

The dinner�s theme, �An Evening of Texas Traditions,� was reflected not only in the burnt orange attire of the honorees and some of the guests, but also in the welcoming contingent from The University of Texas Longhorn Marching Band and the Texas Cowboys, the UT Austin service organization that Dr. Willerson joined in 1959. He is a Life Member.

Representing the UT System at the dinner were: Regents Robert Estrada, Scott Caven, Judith Craven, M.D., Former Chairman of the Board of Regents Charles Miller, and Vice Chancellor for External Relations Randa Safady, Ph.D.

The six new James T. and Nancy Beamer Willerson Endowed Scholarships are invested in the Long Term Fund.