2006–2007 Donor Report BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Honoring the Past, Supporting the Future Philanthropy Boston University School of Medicine takes great pleasure in recognizing the generosity of alumni, members of the Board of Visitors, parents, faculty, staff, compa- nies, corporations, foundations, organizations, and friends. Your support has made possible the establishment and enhancement of many programs and projects at the School of Medicine. We thank you for your participation and for your vision in helping to prepare the clinicians and scientists of tomorrow. Alumni class gifts include all donations made during the fiscal year. While space constraints prevent us from listing the names of non-alumni donors of gifts under $200, we sincerely appreciate the support of those many contributors. 1 Message from the Dean 2 Dear Friends, Graduations are about past achievements and future possibilities. During Commencement The medical school also needs to renovate classrooms and study areas, including the this May, as I greeted and handed each graduate their diploma, I was struck by the literal- Alumni Medical Library. While both residential space and renovated facilities are ly thousands of Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) faculty and staff whose expensive, these investments attract and better serve our students. combined effort made that moment possible for each member of the class. Certainly their families provided the home and support that made the study and achievement required BUSM continues to be a community-based teaching facility with a strong vision for for acceptance into such a competitive profession possible. However, the richness of the the future. We continue to attract top faculty, clinicians, and researchers from around Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) community, past and present, invested in the world. With a global health perspective on learning, our students are continually these physicians and scientists is also impressive. We have almost 2,300 medical school exposed to new ideas, new treatments, and new ways of thinking that will ultimately faculty and thousands of additional staff who contribute to the education and support of shape the way they will practice medicine. our students, facilitating their development. Each of the faculty and staff in our depart- While the financial burden of a medical degree can be daunting to many prospective ments and dean’s offices, as well as the men and women who provide snow removal, students, BUSM is working to help students achieve their dreams with as little maintain the green, and serve quesadillas on Wednesdays, contributes to the education educational debt as possible. But the simple fact remains that a medical education of our students. is expensive. We are developing programs that will help to significantly cut down Our friends and donors also play an important role in each student’s development. Every on the amount of debt faced by our graduates, allowing them to concentrate solely person listed in this report has contributed to our graduates’ achievements at BUSM, as on their medical studies. well as the accomplishments of our current and future students. Medicine is constantly changing, and BUSM must adapt to meet the demands of Our students’ stories and the response of the BUSM family are inspirational. We have had our profession. We are grateful for your generosity to BUSM and hope that you will students with medical issues not covered by their insurance. In one instance, I informed continue to support student housing, scholarships, faculty recruiting, and classroom several faculty and donors of the issue, and within a few weeks we had not only paid for facilities. Please join me in thanking those listed on these pages for their leadership the care needed but now have a medical student emergency fund. We have discovered and support of this great institution. that some students have inadequate funds for meals; and other students have part-time Sincerely, jobs, not just to support themselves, but to send needed money home. BUSM is planning many ways to keep a medical or graduate health sciences education within the reach of students selected for their potential as physicians and scientists, independent of means. As many students spend hours commuting because they can Karen Antman, MD no longer afford to live in the South End, we are planning expanded student housing Provost, Medical Campus adjacent to our campus. Access to safe, affordable housing nearby will significantly Dean, School of Medicine curtail travel time and expenses for many students. 2006–2007 DONOR REPORT 3 A Good Life, A Generous Man When you meet Stanley Konefal, MD ’47, you can immediately detect of Medicine. A consistent contributor for 40 years, he established the Stanley and the contentment that envelopes his life. He has a serene manner and a warm nature. Catherine Konefal Student Revolving Loan Fund in 1991, and on the occasion of his He will tell you that his life has been and is a good one. He will also tell you that 50th Reunion he provided the lead gift for the class donation to the Alumni Medical he is fortunate to have had a wonderful career as a surgeon and has been graced with Library. He has also provided for the School in his estate plans with a charitable a loving family. remainder trust. Raised in East Berlin, Connecticut, he was educated in a four-room schoolhouse prior “Stan Konefal serves as a role model for so many of us. A skilled and caring surgeon, to attending high school. He thought about engineering as a profession, but his first he has never forgotten the opportunity afforded him by BUSM,” notes Barry Manuel, love was surgery, so he majored in pre-med at Tufts University, where he met his late MD ’58, associate dean and executive director of the BUSM Alumni Association. “He wife, Catherine. He was accepted to and matriculated at BUSM in 1942. “BUSM was has stayed connected to our School and frequently attends School functions. He quiet- a good choice for me,” says Konefal. “I appreciate the education I received and am ly and very generously supports BUSM and is one of the finest examples of the kind grateful because the training made it possible to live a wonderful life—to have a good of outstanding alumni we are fortunate to have.” practice and a successful career.” He is dedicated to his family, and his two sons are both physicians. Stanley Jr. is a pedi- Konefal served in the U.S. Army during World War II while in school. He did his atric surgeon, and Joseph (BUSM ’77) is a urologist. His daughter, Catherine, owns internship and residency at Cambridge City Hospital and in 1951 opened his practice and manages an insurance company. He credits his late wife with being responsible for in Medford, Massachusetts, where he served that community for 35 years. “My practice their children’s individual goodness. The grandfather of eight, he recently remarried was made up of average people, and I had many long and good relationships with my and lives most of the year on Singer Island, Florida. patients,” recalls Konefal. He was on the staff of Lawrence Memorial Hospital (now “Dr. Konefal has our deep gratitude for his very long-standing and generous support part of the Hallmark Healthcare System) and the New England Memorial Hospital. for Boston University School of Medicine,” says Karen Antman, MD, dean and “I have never been anything but grateful to Boston University School of Medicine,” provost of the Medical Campus. “He not only gives generously every year, he has also says Konefal. His gratitude has been evident in his significant generosity to the School made a wonderful commitment to provide for the School in his estate plans.” A consistent contributor for 40 years, he established the Stanley and Catherine Konefal Student Revolving Loan Fund in 1991. Stanley Konefal, MD ’47 4 BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Stethoscopes for Students Alumni Listen and Provide the Rx When the members of the Class of 2011 were welcomed to the BUSM community this fall, they each received a white coat that symbolizes their acceptance to the profession. They also received a stethoscope. This basic and required tool of the profession was provided to the new students gratis through the generosity of BUSM alumni who donated the cost of the instruments. “Alumni who gave to this program made an important contribution to easing the burden on our medical students,” says Barry Manuel, MD ’58, BUSM Alumni Association Executive Director. “Providing these stethoscopes is another example of the outstanding generosity of our graduates.” For a gift of $150, donors “sponsored” a stethoscope, and at the White Coat Ceremony a card with the donor’s name, class year, and specialty was inserted in the pocket of the coat. Leslie Serchuck, MD ’90, who sponsored five stethoscopes, says, “I still have my first stethoscope and my first pair of scrubs. They are the tangible proof of an important rite of passage, and I hope the recipients never put a stethoscope to a patient without maintaining a sense of awe.” If you would like to join your fellow graduates in this new alumni tradition and help a medical student or students, you may send your $150 contribution for each instrument you wish to donate to the BUSM Alumni Association, 715 Albany Street, L-120, Boston, MA 02118, or you may also make your contribution online at www.bumc.bu.edu/medalumni and click on Make an Online Contribution. Please note that it is for the Stethoscope Program. “I still have my first stethoscope and my first pair of scrubs. They are the tangible proof of an important rite of passage, and I hope the recipients never put a stethoscope to a patient without maintaining a sense of awe.” 2006–2007 DONOR REPORT 5 It’s All in the Family When David Rothbaum, MD ’82, was accepted to BUSM, the School selected not only an excellent student and a dedicated future alumnus, it also gained a family com- mitted to the institution.