May 9, 2008

SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute Receives Memorial Gift

A gift honoring the Woerner and Robbins families has been made by a Canadian woman to the SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute (SCCI) at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield.  The unrestricted gift is $250,000 and will become part of the institute’s research endowment fund.

The gift has been made by Anna Woerner of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, in memory of her husband, Klaus Woerner, and parents, Wycliffe and Elizabeth Robbins, as well as in honor of her brother, Dr. K. Thomas Robbins, director of SCCI.

“I wanted to honor the work that is being done in building this new center for cancer care and research, one located in a rural setting, similar to my own home, yet focused on providing the latest in treatment options for patients,” explained Woerner.  “My husband was a patient here for a while and I know the efforts by SIU’s medical staff prolonged his life, so I am especially grateful because of that gift of time to our family.”

Klaus Woerner died of cancer at the age of 65 in 2005.  Originally from Germany, he immigrated to Canada and started an engineering group that became Automation Tooling Systems in 1978, a company that became involved in the automation industry internationally.  Based in Canada’s Waterloo region, the company today has more than 4,000 employees in two dozen offices.  Woerner’s various business awards included Canada’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997.  He supported several philanthropic causes.

Wycliffe and Elizabeth Robbins raised their family of four children in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.  Both were high school teachers and Wycliffe Robbins became an administrator at the school where they taught.

“While we expect donor support for our new cancer institute to come from a variety of individuals, it is a delightful surprise for us to receive this international gift from Anna Woerner and we thank her for her generosity,” said Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, SIU’s dean and provost.  “It’s an honor for SIU and a wonderful tribute for her husband, her parents and her brother.”

Robbins joined SIU in 2003 as professor and chair of the otolaryngology head and neck surgery division.  After two years as interim director, he was named director of SCCI in 2005.  He has gained international recognition for his contributions to the field of head and neck oncology and has served as an invited guest lecturer in numerous countries.

The SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at SIU offers state-of-the-art treatment for patients in central and southern Illinois as well as facilities for cancer research and physician and public education.  This summer, it moves to a three-story, $21.5 million facility in Springfield.  More than 75 SIU physician and basic science faculty are involved with the institute.  It is named in recognition of the $10.2 million pledged donation from the SimmonsCooper law firm.

- 30 -