Dual donations
Medicine is a family thing in the Wilson family and so is generosity.
Dr. Margaret Wilson, a retired pediatrician, knows first-hand of the financial struggles of medical students. “I remember what it was like to struggle with money while trying to complete medical school,” she admits. Scholarships for medical school are sorely lacking, even now.
To help future generations of female physicians, Margaret established a scholarship for a female medical student at SIU. Her hope is that this scholarship will help make life a little less worrisome for the student and her family. “These students have families and they’re graduating from medical school with these huge debts.”
While his wife’s generosity was shed on the medical students, Dr. Charles Wilson wanted to benefit SIU in a different way. As a recently retired professor in SIU’s Division of Urology, Charles wanted his gift to impact the work of his chosen specialty.
The SIU School of Medicine’s Founders Urology Care Scholars Program will support new investigators’ research and educational projects that benefit patients with urologic diseases. The funding will be used for basic, translational or clinical research in urologic diseases. The endowment is open to any donors who wish to support urologic research.
“I am a beneficiary of forward thinking mentors who helped me get my first lab started and opened the doors to urologic enquiry,” says Kevin McVary, MD, chair of the Division of Urology. “This has been a precious and rewarding piece of my career. I really want to see urology at SIU grow and expand the pool of clinician-investigators. The SIU Founders Urology Care Scholars Program is a means to help make that happen.”
Though the Jacksonville-based couple have decided to give in different ways, both agree that they’d like to help support the mission of the School and keep quality physicians in Illinois.
written by Rebecca Budde