Self-Sustaining Benefactions PHOTO by JOHN ZICH by PHOTO
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GIFT PLANNING OPPORTUNITIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO | FALL 2017 Self-sustaining benefactions PHOTO BY JOHN ZICH BY PHOTO MAKE YOUR MARK | PLAN A GIFT LEAVE A LEGACY Ralph Livingston (right) addresses an Oak Ridge National Laboratory colloquium in 1954 with Nobel Prize winner Isador Isaac Rabi. A fortunate chain of events Beverly Livingston’s UChicago legacy extends from her father’s Manhattan Project work to her Humanities Division bequest. n 1995 Beverly Livingston, AM’68, 1960–61 Ralph Livingston did research in “ It took many PhD’74, returned to the University of France as a John Simon Guggenheim Fel- I Chicago with her father, Ralph Living- low and Fulbright Research Scholar. It was years before ston, for an event commemorating the 50th a pivotal year for Beverly, then a high school anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. junior. “That was my launch pad,” says Liv- he talked about “Rockefeller Chapel was completely packed,” ingston, who fell in love with the country she says. and culture. She went on to study French [the Manhattan It was then that she learned her father, a at UChicago; teach at Yale and other insti- Manhattan Project chemist, had been one of tutions; translate the work of Flora Tristan, Project.]” many scientists who signed a petition asking an early socialist feminist; and start her own President Harry Truman not to launch an business conducting tours in French around — BEVERLY LIVINGSTON, atomic bomb without first explaining and the United States. AM’68, PHD’74 demonstrating its force and giving Japan a Now Livingston has included the Uni- chance to surrender. versity in her estate plan, leaving a gift to the Ralph Livingston had arrived at the Humanities Division. “I had no debt when I University about five months after Enrico went off to take my first academic position,” Fermi led the team that achieved the first says Livingston, who was offered a fellow- controlled, self-sustaining nuclear reaction ship for her graduate studies and wants to in December 1942. He worked there for two ensure the humanities continue to flourish. years before moving to Oak Ridge Nation- This year, as the University marks the al Laboratory, where he spent the majority 75th anniversary of Chicago Pile-1, that first of his career. “It took many years before he controlled, self-sustained nuclear reaction, talked about [the Manhattan Project],” says Livingston plans to attend some of the many i Beverly, and even then it was only if he were associated events on campus—without her See the series of events commemorating asked to give a talk. “I knew very little about it father, who died in 1998. She’s also do- the 75th anniversary of the first controlled, at home.” nating some of her father’s effects to the self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction at PHOTOS COURTESY MARK FOGLE COURTESY PHOTOS mag.uchicago.edu/cp1-events. What she did know was French. In University archives. LABORATORY RIDGE NATIONAL OAK COURTESY JOHN ZICH; PHOTO BY PHOTOGRAPHY Estate planning for young adults If you have completed your What every parent should know own estate plan documents, you have pondered a series of Due to privacy laws, your child’s status as an adult presents immediate changes in your legal rights to obtain his or her health, financial, education, “what ifs.” You know that peace or personal records, or to make decisions on his or her behalf. Without of mind comes from having documents and tools in place that name you or another trusted family your estate plans in order, and member or friend to act as an agent on his or her behalf, you may that your family or loved ones experience a delay or inability to access critical information. This can will know how to carry out your result in frustration, wasted time, and unnecessary expenses in an already wishes if you become ill or die. emotionally charged or troubling situation. What you may not know is that as a parent, you no longer have Documents young adults should have legal authority over your child’s financial or medical affairs To avoid unexpected roadblocks, your adult child can take a proactive once he or she turns 18. approach and name a trusted adult to act as an agent on his or her behalf in a variety of matters and circumstances. An estate planning attorney can help to assemble and maintain a basic set of estate planning documents, such as: • HIPAA release allows medical information to be released to an agent • Health care power of attorney allows an agent to make medical decisions • Living will provides instructions about medical treatment to be administered (or avoided) when an individual is deemed permanently incapacitated or terminally ill • Durable power of attorney allows an agent to make nonmedical decisions (legal or financial) • Basic will provides instructions for the disposal of assets after death Once your child has these documents in place, encourage him or her to revisit them and update them during different life stages. Start the discussion now By Denise Chan Gans, Senior Director, It’s never too early to have this conversation with your child. Learn about Office of Gift Planning his or her wishes and share your own estate plans. Related glossary: Scholarship A gift that provides support for an undergraduate student. A few gift planning Fellowship A gift that provides support for a graduate or postdoctoral student. Endowment A gift that is invested in perpetuity, in which the earnings from the invested terms to know assets provide permanent financial support for a specific purpose directed by the donor. DO YOU HAVE A PLAN? REQUEST OUR FREE ESTATE PLANNING ORGANIZER AT TINYURL.COM/CONTACTOGP. Small town, big impact After his brain-tumor diagnosis, Chicago Booth employee Brian Thomas set up a scholarship fund for UChicago undergrads. bad day in 1986 turned into the “ His coworkers best years of Brian Thomas and A Mark Fogle’s lives. After a misera- made a video for ble interview for a job he wasn’t sure he even wanted, Thomas attended his uncle’s funer- him. He was never al, then came home to water pouring into able to watch it. his St. Louis kitchen from a broken gutter that was gushing through a light fixture. He was just too “He threw up his hands, swore a bit, and finally decided he needed a room- overcome with mate,” says Fogle. “Fortunately for me, he emotion.” went to the company housing office and found my posting.” They both worked —MARK FOGLE for McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing)— Thomas as a programmer analyst, Fogle in electronics engineering—and both Denise Chan Gans, who met with the cou- needed a roommate. ple to discuss their options. “We were not Shortly after moving in together on knowledgeable about this process and didn’t June 26, 1986, the pair began dating. They know the differences between setting up a married in 2008 and were partners until scholarship and a foundation,” Fogle says. December 2016, when Thomas died from “After talking to [Gans], it seemed to make brain cancer at age 55. the most sense to set up an Odyssey Schol- Moving to Chicago in 1990, Thomas arship in his name.” The Brian J. Thomas and Fogle physically built their lives to- Thomas’s scholarship provides preference Odyssey Scholarship Fund provides prefer- gether, remodeling their Lakeview condo for students from rural Illinois. ence for students from rural Illinois, where to create the perfect home for what Fogle Thomas was born and raised. describes as a couple of homebodies who en- in Securities Prices. Starting out as a data- “Being able to focus his scholarship to joyed staying in and watching sci-fi shows base programmer, he became known for his help kids from rural downstate Illinois was problem solving. His supervisors gave him a twofer,” says Fogle. Coming from Lenz- managerial responsibilities, Fogle says, and burg, Illinois, a town of fewer than 500 he eventually oversaw a team of about 20 people, Thomas “wanted to help kids from developers. his kind of background to come to a large, When the fast-moving illness prevented international city like Chicago and live and Thomas from going to work, it hit him hard. learn from people that are different from “When he was out on leave, his coworkers themselves, to be exposed to new ideas.” made a video for him, wishing him well and This December, the first anniversa- wanting to see him back at work,” Fogle says. ry of his husband’s death, Fogle plans to “He was never able to watch it. He was just spend some quality time with his in-laws too overcome with emotion.” and retrace the “Christmas triangle” he and Fogle (left) and Thomas were together Diagnosed in spring 2015 after a sei- Thomas used to drive visiting their families for 30 years. zure at work, Thomas began to take stock in downstate Illinois and Indiana. But what of his legacy. By summer 2016 he decided he really hopes is that when Thomas’s friends like Battlestar Galactica. “We both had to give back to his employer. “He liked that think of him, they think of the fund. “When ‘thinking’ jobs, so it was nice to put a ham- the University had a world-class reputation,” Christmas comes around,” Fogle says, “I mer in your hand once in a while,” Fogle says. says Fogle. “Providing a quality education to want nothing but donations in his memory.” For more than 20 years, Thomas’s young minds is a different value proposition “thinking” job was with the University of than a widget-making company.