Claire Pomeroy announced that UC Davis Health System is making progress on its fundraising goals and thanked donors for their support for the health system's pioneering programs.
Posted May 18, 2011
UC Davis Health System has reached 70 percent of its $330 million fundraising goal in support of The Campaign for UC Davis, according to a May 13 announcement by Claire Pomeroy, chief executive officer of UC Davis Health System, vice chancellor for human health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at UC Davis.
Pomeroy was joined by UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and 150 of the health system’s closest friends and supporters, who were on hand to celebrate the achievement and inspire others to contribute to the first comprehensive fundraising initiative in the university's 102-year history. The event was held at the UC Davis MIND Institute, where a group of founding families generously supported their vision to found a center of excellence committed to the awareness, understanding, prevention, care and cure of neurodevelopmental disorders.
"Today, we are celebrating the treasured members of our health system family, whose generosity, advocacy and unwavering support are vital to our vision of building a healthier world through bold innovation,” said Pomeroy. “We also begin the process of accelerating our efforts to inspire more people to join the campaign to secure the remaining $100 million needed to reach our goal. These gifts enable us to establish and sustain truly pioneering programs that distinguish UC Davis as an academic health system.”
With steadily declining public funding including diminished state funding of the university, decreased clinical reimbursements, increased need for charity care, and constrained federal support for research, philanthropic contributions are more critical than ever for a top academic health center such as UC Davis, Pomeroy added.
Last October, UC Davis Chancellor Katehi announced plans to inspire 100,000 donors to contribute $1 billion in philanthropic support by the end of 2014 to advance the university's mission and vision. The funds will endow new chairs and professorships; increase student scholarships and financial aid; improve patient care; enrich teaching and research; enhance the university environment through improvements in facilities, library materials, art and scholarly collections and equipment; and allow the campus to act on emerging opportunities.
“The Campaign for UC Davis is empowering the university to achieve transformational change, in our own communities and around the world.”
— Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi
“The Campaign for UC Davis is empowering the university to achieve transformational change, in our own communities and around the world,” Katehi said. “With a focus on innovation, we are fusing knowledge into discovery to solve the profound human and environmental challenges of today, as we create the advances of tomorrow. UC Davis Health System — through its world-class School of Medicine and Medical Center, dynamic faculty practice group and vibrant new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing — is central to our campaign and our efforts to rise to even greater heights of distinction, scholarship and service.”
UC Davis Health System committed to raising one-third of the $1-billion campaign goal, or $330 million. To date, the health system has raised $231 million from more than 16,500 donors. These gifts support nationally recognized, pioneering programs that are creating real breakthroughs and are transforming medicine, nursing and public health, from unlocking the mysteries of autism and Alzheimer’s disease to suppressing deadly cancers and reversing cardiovascular damage. Donations provide the advantage that can save a trauma victim’s life, heal debilitating childhood conditions or ensure that a family has access to quality care at a crucial moment. They also make dreams come true for future health leaders by supporting scholarships and educational programs for medical, nursing, public health and informatics students.
The foundational $100 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to launch the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis is the cornerstone gift of the health system’s portion of the comprehensive campaign. It also is the nation’s largest grant to nursing education. Established in March 2009 to transform health care through nursing leadership, education and research, the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing is on a trajectory for success and national distinction.
Les Pue, who has supported the Huntington’s Disease Clinic at UC Davis Medical Center for a number of years, spoke about his appreciation for the outstanding care his wife received before she passed away earlier this year and the importance of philanthropy to support the clinical programs at the hospital and clinics.
“My wife and I began traveling from the Bay Area to UC Davis in 1997 because of the faculty and staff who provide the highest quality clinical care anywhere, and are at the forefront of clinical research for Huntington’s disease,” Pue said. “They work to advance health in so many ways. I have never felt the sense of personal involvement or the level of satisfaction that I do here. I am a pleased, proud and happy supporter of UC Davis.”
The Campaign for UC Davis
Through The Campaign for UC Davis — a university wide initiative to inspire 100,000 donors to contribute $1 billion in philanthropic support — UC Davis is expanding its capacity to meet the world’s challenges and educate future leaders.
By advancing excellence, innovation, public service, opportunity and quality of life, The Campaign for UC Davis is propelling the university to even greater heights of distinction, scholarship and service.
The campaign is the university’s first comprehensive fundraising effort, and it creates an unprecedented opportunity to extend the university’s influence, both locally and globally. We invite you to join us.
For more information about The Campaign for UC Davis, go to: http://campaign.ucdavis.edu
The Campaign for UC Davis began its quiet phase on July 1, 2006, following approval by the UC Office of the President and endorsement from the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees. During the campaign’s quiet phase, more than $605 million was committed toward the campaign’s $1 billion goal. On September 16, 2010, the UC Board of Regents authorized the public phase of the campaign and, on October 22, 2010, UC Davis formally launched the public phase. As of May 1, 2011, more than 78,000 donors had pledged $670 million to UC Davis.
About UC Davis Health System
UC Davis Health System is advancing the health of patients everywhere by providing excellent patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, fostering innovative, interprofessional education, and creating dynamic, productive partnerships with the community. The academic health system includes one of the country's best medical schools, a 645-bed acute-care teaching hospital, an 800-member physician's practice group and the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, an international neurodevelopmental institute, a stem cell institute and a comprehensive children's hospital. Other nationally prominent centers focus on advancing telemedicine, improving vascular care, eliminating health disparities and translating research findings into new treatments for patients. Together, they make UC Davis a hub of innovation that is transforming health for all. For more information, visit http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/aboutus/
About UC Davis
For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has more than 32,000 students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an annual research budget that exceeds $679 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.