Donor Stories

ALUM-Robert Apfel

ROBERTA APFEL (MED’62)

CLASS SPIRIT, AND A SUITE REMEMBRANCE

Alumna’s planned gift will help her class endow a suite in the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s new Medical Student Residence in honor of their 50th reunion

What Dr. Roberta Apfel remembers most from her time at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine are the supportive, close relationships. Everyone from the dean to the janitor was invested in the lives of students. “It was a comfortable and supportive place that was very focused on patients and the craft of medicine,” says Dr. Apfel, “and that was very important to me.”

To be sure, a supportive environment didn’t mean an easy one: “We worked so hard as medical students that we finally staged a strike to get a 40-hour weekend, because we were working straight through from Friday morning to Sunday night,” recalls Dr. Apfel. “I spent the whole winter of my fourth year in the tunnels underneath Boston City Hospital. I hardly saw daylight.”

Those vivid memories and fond feelings for her days in medical school have not dimmed. In fact, they’ve become even sharper over the past decades as Dr. Apfel volunteered, donated, and rekindled relationships with her classmates.  Since her 15th reunion, she has been fundraising for BUSM through annual phonathons. “I appreciate the chance to meet current students, stay in touch with my classmates and watch this cohort of peers move through time, and help BU raise money for the School.”

For her 25th class reunion, when she became class president, Dr. Apfel built the reunion program around the subject of women in medicine—a particularly fitting theme for BUSM, as the School originated from one of the country’s first medical schools for women, the New England Female Medical College. “BU tends to be a pioneer,” she says, “even though it doesn’t get enough credit for that.” Dr. Apfel herself could be considered a pioneer: she was the first woman to graduate Brandeis University who went on to medical school.

She and her husband Dr. Bennett Simon had been giving to BUSM steadily over the years, but as her 50th reunion began coming into view, they thought more seriously about a planned gift. “We retired in 2008, timing things exquisitely so that our savings completely plummeted,” says Dr. Apfel, with a chuckle. “A charitable gift annuity seemed like a win-win situation. We could give a gift and still receive some additional income.”

At the same time, the 50th reunion planning committee began discussing the mark they would leave on their alma mater. They decided that their class gift would endow a suite in the new Medical Student Residence (which opened in Fall 2012).

“I think this new dormitory is a big, big step for BUSM, something that I and a lot of my classmates see the need for,” explains Dr. Apfel. It’s also to the new housing for medical students that the funds from their charitable gift annuity will go. “It will provide housing that’s safe, reasonably affordable, and adds to group cohesiveness. These values are emblematic of our positive memories of medical school,” she says. “And that’s something worth supporting.”

Donna and Doug Barnard, (MED ’65)

SHOWING THEIR GRATITUDE FOR GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT

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Donna and Doug Barnard, BUSM graduates of the class of 1965, have been loyal supporters of the School for almost four decades. Recently, they extended their support by creating a charitable remainder unitrust to benefit the new student residence on campus.

“Medical school is very expensive now,” say the Barnards. “To have a student residence is about as good as it can get for a medical student. They can now live on campus, close to class and the hospital.”

The Barnards met each other at the first social event held for incoming medical students to BUSM. They got married that year and by the end of their second year had a baby daughter.

“Six months later, Donna lost her dad and her financial support,” recalls Doug. “My family could not afford both medical school and college tuitions. At this point, we were on our own financially. With the medical school’s backing, we decided to take a year off, earn some money, and try to come back the following year to complete our education. BUSM helped both of us obtain jobs within the medical community. At that point, we still needed financial help. The School was more than willing to work with us and gave us scholarships and loans that allowed us to continue.”

They went on to graduate and complete their internships as well as have a second child, a son. To this day, they are not sure how they made it through that internship year.

“When we were in trouble financially and emotionally with our own lives, BUSM provided guidance and support for us,” say the Barnards. “BUSM gave us the opportunity to succeed.”

Eventually, the training they received at BUSM allowed Donna and Doug to have productive and satisfying professional lives. Donna helped found a practice with an oncology hematology group. As for Doug, after an anesthesia residency and a year in Vietnam, he left the Navy and moved to private practice north of Boston.

“To give something back is very important to both of us,” says Doug. “The charitable remainder unitrust is a way to assure us of a small income for our lifetime and to be sure BUSM is the eventual recipient of our gift.”

Mary Jane England (MED’64)

SETTING A PHILANTHROPIC EXAMPLE

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Mary Jane England (MED’64) is a longtime leader in the care and treatment of children and families, an advocate for community mental health services, former president of Regis College (her alma mater) in Weston, Massachusetts, a member of the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s Dean’s Advisory Board, and a long-time supporter of the Schools of Medicine and Public Health. 

“Boston University had been extremely good to me. It not only gave me a scholarship when I was in medical school, but provided me with the chance to be trained and active in all the areas that interested me most – kids and families, access to mental health services, and social justice. I wanted to give back because they gave to me.” 

As chair of the committee that spearheaded a massive renovation of the iconic Talbot Building in the mid-90s, Dr. England wanted to set a philanthropic example for others. She established two charitable gift annuities to benefit a School of Public Health initiative, totaling $100,000. 

Dr. England’s charitable gift annuities provide payments to her in retirement while still providing a gift to the University. In addition, she was able to claim an income tax charitable deduction in the year her gifts were established. 

She chose this type of gift because it offered her a way to make a meaningful gift while securing a fixed income stream for the future. 

“It’s a great option,” she says, “because it allowed me to make a gift while I was still actively involved and passionate about the School, the best time to be inspired! Why wait?”

Dr. Albert Ghassemian

HIS PHILANTHROPY TAKES MANY FORMS, HELPS IN MANY WAYS

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Dr. Albert Ghassemian is well-known in the Boston medical community as an impassioned advocate for his patients. Now, thanks to his establishment of The Virginia and Albert Melik Ghassemian, M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund, he also will be well-known at Boston University as a generous – and creative – advocate for our students.

Dr. Ghassemian’s relationship with Boston University extends over two decades, and includes volunteer service to the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board. His history of philanthropic support at BU reflects his Armenian heritage, with gifts for the Armenian Medical Fund, and his friendship with former Dean and interim University president, Dr. Aram Chobanian, with gifts to the professorship and scholarship that bear Dr. Chobanian’s name.

However, it is Dr. Ghassemian’s most recent gifts that are the most personal and demonstrate the kind of resourceful energy that endeared him to his patients. Honoring his beloved late wife, Ginger, he established The Virginia and Albert Melik Ghassemian, M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund in February 2010 through the use of a charitable gift annuity.

In addition to the charitable gift annuity, which will provide Dr. Ghassemian income for the rest of his life and ultimately be used to provide financial assistance to students, the significant strength of the Ghassemian Scholarship Fund is amplified with an additional gift of real estate. In May 2011, Dr. Ghassemian made arrangements to give to BU the building that served as the home for his medical practice in Methuen for nearly thirty years.

Awards from The Virginia and Albert Melik Ghassemian, M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund will begin in the 2013 – 2014 academic year, coinciding with Dr. Ghassemian’s 75th birthday. Annual scholarships shall be awarded to a student enrolled at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine as well as an undergraduate student enrolled in any other College or School at Boston University.

Reflecting on the impact that Dr. Ghassemian’s gift will have at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Dean Karen Antman, M.D. says, “Increased scholarship assistance offers prospective students greater choice and added relief from the burden of long-term educational debt. The Virginia and Albert Melik Ghassemian, M.D .Endowed Scholarship fund at BUSM will help equalize opportunity for a medical education and for that we are deeply appreciative of Dr. Ghassemian’s generosity.”

ALUM-Burton Golub

BURTON GOLUB (MED’65)

AN INCURABLE CASE OF GENEROSITY

A BUSM alumnus and infectious disease specialist sets up scholarship funding

Burton Golub (MED’65) knew from an early age that he wanted both to help people and to work with his hands; his top career choices were doctor and concert pianist. “But I’m not a good enough piano player,” he says, and he found himself drawn to the work of his best friend’s father, Dr. Lane.

Golub often visited Dr. Lane at his office, to learn the trade. “I have a vivid recollection of him handing me a pair of sterile gloves to put on,” he says. “And, of course, I contaminated them immediately.” Dr. Lane’s firm-but-kind encouragement affected Golub, and set the tone for his future education at MIT and the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

While at BUSM, he recalls enjoying anatomy and hating microbiology: “Now my specialty is infections, and microbiology, of course, is key to what I do.” Early exposure to the profession guided Golub through his years in medicine, from those courses through his private practice and teaching work in Colorado. His decision to forego the piano turned out to be the right one as Golub proved an adept and passionate doctor. “For as long as I can remember,” he says, “I thought that was one of the best things a person could do.”

Dr. Golub hopes to help future medical students join him in his noble profession both by teaching and by supporting financial aid at BUSM. “I was grateful for the kind of generosity and education that I received, and I had the financial resources to help,” he explains. After giving generously to the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine for many years, Golub recently set up a charitable gift annuity and targeted his funds to scholarships. “Why not do something good with your money,” he says, “and help other people who will benefit from it?” His piano may need a little work, but sentiments like that are music to our ears.

 

ALUM-Susan Leeman

SUSAN LEEMAN

A PIONEER PAYS BACK

BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine faculty member supports the next generation of scientists—and honors a dear friend.

For Susan Leeman, growing up the daughter of Russian immigrants in the 1940s meant that after college, she would marry and start a family. Instead, she saw a different future for herself—which eventually led her to become a professor in the Department of Pharmacology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

With the aid of a fellowship funded by the government, Leeman went to graduate school and earned her PhD at a time when that path was not always encouraged for women. She went on to become a pioneer in the basic sciences: She and her students isolated for the first time two important neuropeptides in the body, known as substance P and neurotensin, that serve as neurotransmitters and neuromodulators and participate in immune cell function.

As government funds for research started to become less readily available, Leeman was determined to help those who wanted to follow in her footsteps—and honor a former colleague and friend in the process. That’s why she used the charitable IRA rollover distribution to establish a basic science research fund at BUSM.

“I would not have gone into research if I hadn’t had support myself,” says Leeman, a strong believer in paying back what you’ve been given.

The fund is named in honor of Dr. Karen Reed, a BUSM professor who died of breast cancer in 2010. “She was a fun woman to think with,” says Leeman. The Karen Reed Research Fund will support research on inflammatory-associated cancers.

“When I found out I’d be able to start this fund as a tribute to Karen who meant so much to me, I was just really happy.”

ALUM-Leventhal

SHERRY LEVENTHAL (PARENT CAS’02, MED’07, MED’09)

INVESTING IN EXCELLENCE

In appreciation of her daughters’ education, a mother opens doors for other students

In 2009, Alan M. and Sherry M. Leventhal made an extraordinarily generous pledge of $10 million to Boston University, a gift intended in part to motivate substantial parallel gifts for student financial aid and professorships.

Their donation recognizes the exemplary training that the Leventhals’ two daughters received from the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, as well as the often overwhelming debt that many of today’s students face upon graduation from medical school. As Sherry Leventhal, MED campaign chair and a member of the MED Dean’s Advisory Board, explains, “I became involved with the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine when my two daughters were students there. Sarah, who was interested in ob-gyn, and Emily, who wanted to specialize in dermatology, each had an extraordinary experience at BUSM. After they became residents in their respective fields, they both reported that the School had prepared them extremely well for their post-grad specialties.

“Both of my daughters feel that their clinical training at Boston Medical Center, with its diverse patient population, was an invaluable part of their medical education. In contrast to many other medical schools, BUSM students are given a great deal of responsibility, almost from the first day of their clinical program. Relating to patients in a personalized manner and communication skills are emphasized at BUSM, helping to develop the students into the compassionate physicians that we need more of in this day and age.

“I have learned so much more about the medical school during my time on the Dean’s Advisory Board. I am particularly impressed by the diversity of the student population and desire of the students to help the underserved everywhere in the world. I am also aware of the challenges that the School faces, the most pressing of which is the overwhelming debt loads carried by the students when they graduate. We need to find ways to reduce the financial pressure on BUSM graduates, and I am hopeful that we can make real progress in that direction.”

Sherry Leventhal previously practiced law with the firm of Lemle & Kelleher LLP in New Orleans. She earned a bachelor of arts in English at Northwestern University in 1974, and is a 1977 graduate of the Tulane School of Law. She is a trustee of Tulane University and the Neighborhood House Charter School (Dorchester, Mass.).

Carl Olsson’s (MED’63)

CELEBRATING THREE BUSM DOCTORS IN THE FAMILY

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It would be a challenge to summarize in a few words Carl Olsson’s (MED’63) lengthy resume in medicine-the 375 books, articles, and chapters he’s written in his field, the list of honors and accolades, the ten scientific journals he’s served. But it’s easy to say that Carl and his wife Mary are among the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s most devoted and generous donors. In 2008 the Olssons established The Carl and Mary Olsson Scholarship Fund to support young medical students. In recent years they have enriched the scholarship fund through the creation of two charitable gift annuities. Reflecting on his giving, Carl said, “The gift annuities are a way to show what the School means to us, and they’re a great vehicle for our own retirement at the same time.”

Carl Olsson, the John K. Lattimer Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Urology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is not only an alumnus and donor to the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, but was a teacher and department chair at BUSM in the 1970s and 80s. In 1985, he received the School’s highest alumni honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Supporting BUSM through charitable gift annuities was an easy decision for the Olssons. “I’ve been the recipient of many, many good things as a consequence of going to BU,” Carl notes, “and our son Leif Eric Olsson (MED’94) and son-in-law Lars Ellison (MED’95) went to BU, too, so that makes three MDs in the family from BU.”

Edward F. Parsons (MED’65)

A PASSION, A FOCUS, A GIFT FOR TUBERCULOSIS RESEARCH

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For more than 25 years Dr. Edward F. Parsons (MED’65) made it his business to treat and cure tuberculosis (TB), one of the world’s most persistent, deadly and contagious diseases. It’s the second leading cause of infectious death worldwide, after HIV infection. His dedicated efforts have led to public recognition for his work.

As a pulmonologist, Dr. Parsons spent most of his practice years in Lowell, MA. Following a long career in private practice and hospital patient management, he is now serving as the medical director of Lowell General Hospital’s tuberculosis clinic. His longtime interest in TB research and treatment keep him actively engaged in practice.

In fact, it is the passion for TB research that inspired Dr. Parsons to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his graduation from the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine with a generous gift, a portion of which will be made through his will. Through this kind of thoughtful planning he hopes to stimulate more research on TB at BU. “Early diagnosis is really the key to reducing the number of cases of active disease,” he says. “Many people carry the infection but less than 5% go on to develop active disease. My job has been to try to separate those, to treat infected people prophylactically before they develop active disease, and to isolate, hospitalize and develop drug treatments for those with active disease.”

It is his wish, in supporting TB research, both now and well into the future, that new treatment options for TB patients will offer comfort and new hope.

Carol Pohl, MD (MED’67)

 

ALUM-Joelyn Rohman

JOELYN ROHMAN

A LIFE WELL LIVED—AND REMEMBERED

The widow of a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine alumnus pays tribute to his career and passion for teaching through student scholarship

Joy and Michael Rohman met at New York University in July 1946, just days after Michael was released from the Army. “In fact,” remembers Joy, “when I met him he was dressed in half combat clothes and civilian clothes—he hadn’t had time to go shopping.”

That September, Michael applied to medical school and got into his top choice: Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. They were married in his second year and moved to a tiny, one-room apartment on Queensbury Street. “Michael picked it out,” says Joy. “The rent, I recall, was 49 dollars a month. We made do, beautifully. I didn’t think so at the time, but looking back now, we probably gained some good values about the important things in life, in what really matters.”

Michael spent many late nights studying, writing papers, and preparing lessons in that apartment. Joy, with training as a medical assistant, worked for a gynecologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Curious about Michael’s studies, she would read his texts and always ask questions. “He was very generous about teaching me,” she says.

After graduation from BUSM in 1950—and an additional eight years of residencies—Michael began a long and distinguished career as a cardiothoracic and trauma surgeon. Joy, a photographer, would sometimes document his more challenging procedures in the O.R. In 2002, while still teaching and active in the hospital, Michael died suddenly. “Since then,” says Joy, “I’ve wanted to establish a program that would carry on his work—in some meaningful way.”

To honor the memory of a man who loved his profession and teaching, Joy decided to create a scholarship fund at the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine in Michael’s name. “What better way to commemorate his life than contributing to a program that will assist another surgical student?” says Joy. “He would be delighted to know about this.”

She made her initial gift by taking advantage of the charitable IRA rollover legislation. The legislation—which expired on December 31, 2011—allowed investors age 70 ½ and older to directly transfer up to $100,000 from an IRA to charity without paying income tax on the amount transferred.

“I look at the life we established and it’s enviable in many ways,” says Joy. “You live, you work, and you enjoy the fruits of your labor. It’s time now to give back to the source of Michael’s learning.”

STUART SIEGEL (CAS’67, MED’67)

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Medicine beckoned early for Stuart Siegel (CAS’67, MED’67), and Boston University’s six-year combined BA/MD program offered the quickest-and most affordable-path to his career of choice.

Siegel distinctly remembers how his BU experience helped shape his notion of what it meant to be a doctor. “I liked how integrated the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine was with the surrounding community,” he says. “We were serving patients who were homebound, mostly elderly, and this is how they got their primary care. It’s how I learned the art of medicine.”

BU was the first step toward Siegel’s 37-year career at the University of Southern California (USC)-a time during which survival rates for childhood cancers went from 20 or 30 percent to more than 90 percent. Siegel had a hand in this nationwide trend as the leader of USC’s pediatric oncology program, which he shaped into one of the nation’s top five while authoring more than 300 publications.

Today, Siegel continues to serve in leadership roles for organizations that help children with cancer. He has also provided opportunities for future doctors by establishing a scholarship fund. Recently, Siegel decided to augment this fund with a planned estate gift. This choice, he says, allows him to continue to provide for his family now while “making a real difference later on.”

“When I got to BU, I needed as much assistance as I could get,” Siegel says. “BU showed its commitment to me and its confidence in me then, and that’s why I give back now.”