AUSTIN, Texas — With a $50 million gift from the LIVESTRONG Foundation to the Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin has exceeded its goal of raising $3 billion during the eight-year Campaign for Texas.
This gift will be used to establish the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes, an innovative enterprise designed in collaboration with cancer patients and survivors to break new ground in patient-centered care by developing and promoting innovative teaching practices and research.
“The LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes will bring to the Dell Medical School the cause of patient-centered care that has been at the heart of the foundation’s work since its beginning 17 years ago. I am so thankful to LIVESTRONG and so excited about the groundwork this lays within the Dell Medical School,” said University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers. “Revolutionary advances will flow from this partnership. Lives will be saved, and lives will be made far better because of the LIVESTRONG Foundation’s generosity and strategic vision.”
Building upon the years-long effort to bring a world-class medical school to Central Texas, this landmark contribution from the LIVESTRONG Foundation demonstrates the innovative advancements that underscore the mission of the Dell Medical School. The school was launched after Travis County voters elected in 2012 to increase their property taxes, in part to support the medical school and make Austin a center for comprehensive cancer care. The Dell Medical School will enroll its first class of students in the summer of 2016.
“Our partnership with The University of Texas’ Dell Medical School will allow the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes to reach more patients, not just here in Texas but around the world, as we create a replicable and scalable model of care that’s centered on the needs and lives of patients,” said Doug Ulman, LIVESTRONG Foundation president and CEO. “This is not about new buildings, but rather about radically shifting a culture of care to be more inclusive, providing care for all who need it. The Institutes are a game-changer for us and a game-changer for the cancer community.”
The Campaign for Texas has enabled The University of Texas at Austin to foster student success and build on the university’s standing as one of the best public research universities in the nation.
The more than $3 billion that the university has received in gifts, pledges and donations is the most ever by a higher education institution in Texas and among the largest amounts raised by a public university in the U.S. in a single campaign. The campaign ends Aug. 31.
Collectively, 260,000 students, alumni, faculty members, staffers and friends and more than 12,000 organizations have contributed to this milestone, making gifts both large and small to support the university’s teaching and research missions in every area from the sciences and engineering to medicine and health care, education and leadership, business and the economy, policy and law, and the arts and humanities.
This $50 million gift epitomizes many of the values behind the Campaign for Texas, empowering the university to conduct world-changing research, pioneer new areas of educational excellence and transform the lives of thousands of individuals. UT Austin and LIVESTRONG will advance the treatment and quality of life for cancer patients and survivors in ways that will make a difference in Central Texas and that can be replicated all over the world.
Created in 1997, the LIVESTRONG Foundation is known for providing free cancer support services and advocating for policies that improve access to care and quality of life. The foundation has served 2.8 million people affected by cancer and raised more than $580 million to support cancer survivors.
“We have an enormous opportunity to design the Dell Medical School from the ground up around the challenges and opportunities of 21st century health care. The innovations that start here truly will change our community and the world,” said Dr. Clay Johnston, dean of the Dell Medical School. “The LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes show how innovative and important our work can be. We can do more than heal — we can improve the process of healing. This important gift will help us do just that.”
President Powers will announce the gift at a news conference on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. in The Lee Hage Jamail Academic Room (Main 212) in UT Austin’s Main Building. The announcement will be broadcast live on the Web, with video streaming at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/utaustin.
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