Sanford R. Weiss, M.D. (ADL ’55, MED ’58) has given a $1.9 million charitable remainder annuity trust to the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine to support scholarships and commemorate his 50th reunion.
Weiss, who died on March 7, 2008, established the scholarship to support students on the basis of financial need who are interested in pursuing a career in colon and rectal surgery or neurosurgery and/or medical students who are disabled or who have chronic illness.
The scholarship reflects Weiss’s own struggle to complete his education and medical training while battling chronic illness. During his undergraduate studies at Harvard, he was forced to return to his hometown of Cleveland for experimental colon surgery at Cleveland Clinic. Even after completing his residency in New York and establishing a practice in San Francisco, Weiss was plagued by chronic abdominal illnesses that caused frequent hospitalization and travel back to the Clinic.
In spite of these challenges, Weiss served the medical profession with distinction. In addition to his private practice, he was chief surgeon at the San Leandro Memorial hospital and associate professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He was a fellow in the American College of Surgeons and a member of Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Disease Center Leadership Board.
Weiss was also determined to make the most of his early retirement and intermittent bouts of good health. An avid scuba diver, white-water rafter, and hiker, he traveled to Turkey, Morocco, India, Australia, Antarctica, Africa, and Asia.
Throughout his life, Weiss served as a model to others. “Sandy was clearly one of the most brilliant students in our class,” recalls friend and classmate, 2008 School of Medicine reunion chair, and co-chair of the 50th reunion, Richard B. Fratianne, M.D. “It was also the consensus of his classmates that he was a genuinely outstanding person.”
Weiss’s leadership gift also serves as a model of philanthropy for others, encouraging all alumni to support current and future generations of School of Medicine students.
“He was proud of the school and proud of his education,” Fratianne says. “I hope others will appreciate his incredible generosity and match it in whatever way they can.”
Make a Reunion Gift that Meets Your Personal Objectives and Supports Your Medical School
There are multiple methods for making special reunion gifts to provide for the School of Medicine now and in future decades are available to permit every reunion celebrant to participate:
• A documented will commitment
• A planned gift commitment, a gift that provides the donor with income for life or a specified number of years or that provides for the future
• Outright cash or stock gifts
• Other gifts of such as real estate, including homes (which we may continue to occupy), collections of art or stamps, etc.
Pledges made this calendar year, 2008, may be fulfilled over the course of 3-5 years.
Your reunion provides you with an opportunity to celebrate your education, successes, and legacy. Please take this milestone reunion as an opportunity to support the students, faculty, and academic programs of your medical school.
For details on methods for reunion giving, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at the School of Medicine at 216-368-6830.
No comments:
Post a Comment