President's Corner

The Canby Robinson Society is stronger than ever with over 2,400 members, over $18.5 million in total CRS gifts in 2006 and 19 M.D. and 15 M.D./Ph.D. CRS Scholars. Your commitment is definitely making a difference in patient care, education and research at our Medical Center.

Spring is always a busy time for us. We hosted our fourth annual dinner for the prospective CRS scholars during the Medical School's Second Visit Weekend. The following day the prospective scholars shadowed one of our current scholars. These opportunities have proven to help with recruiting these very talented and highly sought after students.

Another successful endeavor has been our regional dinners and we co-hosted one with Medical Alumni Affairs in Baltimore, Md., on April 30.

Match Day was on March 15 and our eight CRS scholars matched at the following residency programs: Haritha Bodduluri, Plastic Surgery, University of Southern California; Kristina Collins, transitional year at UT College of Medicine, Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital; Katie Cox, Emergency Medicine, VUMC; Nguyen Ha, transitional year at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins-Wilmer, Greater Baltimore Medical Center; Donna Vleugels, preliminary year in Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Dermatology, Barnes-Jewish Hospital; Christina Shuman Wise, Psychiatry, University of Kentucky; Edwin Kwon, preliminary year in Surgery at the University of California at San Francisco; and Eric Musiek, preliminary year at VUMC; Neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The CRS Board had their spring meeting at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development and board members had an opportunity to tour four programs at the Center. A CRS Outreach Tour was held in early May with Donna Glassford, Director of Cultural Enrichment, leading the tour of the incredible art collection at The Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Class Day was May 10 and the CRS presented a very special annual award which is given annually to the fourth-year student who is voted by his or her classmates as having the intangible qualities of common sense, knowledge, thoughtfulness, personal warmth, gentleness, and confidence that combine to make the "Ideal Physician," the person fellow classmates would most want to have as their personal physician.

Thank you for all you do for Vanderbilt Medical Center and for trusting us to make the best use of your dollars, which in turn allows us to make a significant impact on the lives of so many!

Missy Eason
Director of Donor Relations, VUMC

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Donor support enhances programs, education

There are many different ways of supporting medical education – directly to students through scholarship or through the programs themselves that enhance the students' education.

Members of the Canby Robinson Society approach giving both ways, some taking an either/or approach and others spreading the wealth through both scholarships and programs. Some prefer giving anonymously. Some don't mind having their name attached to their generosity.

Wallace Rasmussen, former chair and CEO of Beatrice Foods, a major American food processing company, might have spent his business years concentrating on the name brands that made Beatrice Foods a household name – Meadow Gold, LaChoy, Butterball and Swiss Miss – but after retirement his mind turned to helping young people get an education.

His philanthropy is widespread, but his giving to Vanderbilt University Medical Center has included support for medical school scholarship, the Shade Tree Family Clinic and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. He established two medical school scholarships with a gift of $50,000. The scholarships were recently presented to Paige Fortinsky and Jared O'Leary.

Rasmussen, 92, says that although he has given scholarship money nationally for more than 20 years across the country, he had never gotten a handwritten thank-you note before one came from Megan Herceg, whom he sponsored in VUSM's White Coat Ceremony. The two became good friends and one day she mentioned that the Shade Tree Family Clinic was in need of funding. "I said 'will $25,000 get you going?'" he recalls.

Rasmussen grew up without much money. He left home when he was 16, during the Great Depression, so his parents wouldn't have to feed an extra mouth. At a speech, when he retired in 1980, he vowed to spend the rest of his life helping young people get an education. "I tell them, 'you owe me nothing, not one dime. But I would like you to help somebody, somewhere along the line, because I'm helping you. That's all I ask. That way, we keep the chain going.'"

And there are those who prefer to remain anonymous.

A parent of a VUSM student has given $250,000 to the Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment, home to both a new standardized patient program and a technical-based Center for Medical Simulation. He has also designated money to the student-run Shade Tree Clinic and to scholarships. The decision about giving to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine was an easy one.

"Being the product of a quality liberal arts undergraduate experience and then a large state law school, I came to recognize the huge advantage of learning in an environment where teachers love to teach and the students are hungry for the best possible education. I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw at VUMC," he said. "I saw parallels with my liberal arts undergraduate experience. I saw the passion of the deans and the faculty for the students, the focus on recruiting and retaining great teachers, and the way the students are encouraged to work together on solving problems. I was also excited about VUMC's commitment to lifelong learning, to collaboration, and to exploring new and better ways to deal with the explosion of information and knowledge, an explosion that would necessitate a change in pedagogy in teaching medical students."

There were many different areas he could have given to, and the choices were many, so he asked.

"The decision to support the Center was in response to our questioning Dean Gabbe about what his top commitment for this campaign was. His belief in the project is contagious. We hope that our support allows for more efficient learning because there just is so much to learn in such a short period of time."

The parent also became aware of the Shade Tree Family Clinic and of the passion of the students who support it with their time. He sees the East Nashville clinic as an opportunity for students to have a both a strong say in their medical education and a partnership with the Vanderbilt faculty.

"The Medical Center's support for the Shade Tree clinic seems to me a continuation of the creative focus to turn out the best doctors and researchers and to accept their responsibility as leaders in greater Nashville," he said. "The Shade Tree clinic takes full advantage of the opportunity to reach out and make a difference in the community by expanding access to quality medical care, while at the same time providing a rich hands-on teaching environment, one that goes beyond traditional education of diagnosis and treatment, and teaches about real world problems of access and education. It's an opportunity for student activism and student leadership. It's an opportunity for students to learn about issues of practice management and it's an opportunity for faculty to work in ways that they don't usually work. The benefits for the students, the faculty and the community are significant."

- NANCY HUMPHREY

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Rising second-year medical students Paige Fortinsky (left) and Jared OÕLeary (right) with Wallace Rasmussen and his friend, Lan Yun.

CRS board welcomes new members

The Canby Robinson Society board welcomes six new members to join the existing members who are devoting their time and resources to further the goals of the board.

Eric Chazen, M.D.
Eric Chazen, M.D. has been a lifelong supporter of Vanderbilt University and Nashville. The Tennessee native graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1952 and went to the University of Tennessee Medical School. After graduating in 1956, he came back to Vanderbilt for an internship in Pediatrics and then went to Boston Children's Hospital for his residency. But his heart remained in Nashville.

"I always wanted to practice in an academic medical center, and because I loved Nashville and Vanderbilt I moved back," he said.

During his first year, Chazen ran the pediatric outpatient clinic at Vanderbilt before starting a private pediatric practice in Nashville – a highly successful Green Hills practice he operated for more than 41 years before retiring in 2002. He also acknowledges that he only admitted his patients to Vanderbilt throughout his career.

For 25 years, he taught a childhood development elective course, inviting VUSM students to his office to examine and interview families. He is currently assisting in the medical school's Ecology of Medicine and Physical Diagnosis courses.

The longtime CRS member states that the scholarships offered are its strength. "I would love to see scholarships double or even tripled to entice the finest students to attend Vanderbilt."

Connie Cigarran
Connie Cigarran's involvement with the Canby Robinson Society is just another way in which she gives back to the community.

In addition to her CRS board appointment, Cigarran currently serves as secretary for the Girl Scout Council of Cumberland Valley and is on the board of the Antiques and Garden Show, an event she has been involved with since its beginning 17 years ago, when she served as co-chair. She was also co-chair of the first Women of Achievement Dinner benefiting the YWCA.

Cigarran, a certified Montessori teacher, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in French language and literature, and pursued a Master's degree at MTSU in historic preservation.

"Vanderbilt is the outstanding medical center in the region which I and my family, including our grandchildren, use for our health care needs," she said.

"Through my participation on the Canby Robinson Society Board, I hope to make a contribution to its continuing success and to be more involved in the Vanderbilt Medical Center."

Jim Ayers
Jim Ayers has spent his life in the financial world, but he has also allocated part of his time and resources to VUMC.

Ayers, who funds the Ayers Institute at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, has been a member of the Medical Center Board of Trust for two years and was recently asked to serve on the CRS board.

"Vanderbilt is a world-class educational and medical facility – a facility that is not only recognized around the world, but one that is also very enlightened in its relationship with the local community in Nashville and throughout Tennessee. That combination, more than anything, attracted me to do more work with the institution."

A graduate of the University of Memphis with a degree in accounting, Ayers worked for a pharmaceutical company before taking a job as comptroller for a nursing home, climbing his way to executive management. In the mid 1980s, he bought a small bank in Tennessee, which he has grown from $14 million in assets to almost $2 billion with 45 locations.

Patti Smallwood
Patti Smallwood describes herself as a professional volunteer and her record backs up this self-description.

In addition to her work with many community organizations, she has been a member of the Junior League of Nashville for several years, serving as president of the organization in 2004-2005. She was heavily involved with the planning and organization of the Iroquois Steeplechase, an annual event that supports the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

When asked to join the CRS board, she graciously accepted the post to carry on the family tradition.

Her father, H. Rodes Hart, is on the VUMC board and has been for several years.

"I am a big fan of the Medical Center and I look forward to serving on the board and helping in any way I can," she said.

Naji N. Abumrad, M.D.
Naji N. Abumrad, M.D., John L. Sawyers Professor of Surgery and chair of the Department of Surgery, feels at home at Vanderbilt and recognizes the Canby Robinson Society's role in promoting that feeling for people from all cultures and backgrounds.

"Vanderbilt means a lot to me," he said. "I left after my academic career and figured out that this was the place for me. I came back home."

As a board member, Abumrad wants to enhance the educational opportunities to people from different backgrounds by networking with international students.

"Being a CRS member is a formal way of giving back," said Abumrad, a CRS member for 14 years. "The CRS supports the right causes: student education and diversity."

Margaret Brennan, M.D.
Margaret Brennan, M.D., MD' '81, has helped mold countless students in her career and she appreciates the Canby Robinson Society's commitment to help foster the minds of the brightest medical students in the country.

"It is great to have a group dedicated to getting willing funds in the hands of people with active minds," she said. "There are so many people at Vanderbilt with great minds and they need funding."

Brennan, a cardiologist with a private practice in Nashville, was Vanderbilt Chief Resident from 1985-86, the first woman to hold this position. Following this post, she completed her cardiology training at Johns Hopkins University, returning to a faculty position at Vanderbilt for four years before starting her private practice.

In addition to serving on the CRS board, she is the current president of the Brittingham Society, which connects former internal medicine house staff and fellows from Vanderbilt for friendship and professional exchange in an alumni community.

- JON COOMER

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Left to right, front: Margaret Brennan, M.D., Jim Ayers, Patti Smallwood, Eric Chazen, M.D., Connie Cigarran and Naji Abumrad, M.D.

Canby Robinson Society scholars graduating in May were, left to right: Haritha Bodduluri, Erik Musiek, Katie Cox Johnson, Christina Shuman Wise, Donna Vleugels, Nguyen Ha and Kristina Collins; not pictured, Edwin Kwon.

Where are they now?
Esther Penn, M.D.

Esther Penn, M.D., MD'98, enjoys her life in northern California. She and her husband, Daniel Penn, M.D., MD'98, share their 3.5-acre homestead about one hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge with several horses, goats and cats.

After graduating from VUSM, Esther completed a residency at University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center before accepting a position with Permanente Medical Group.

Permanente is a multi-specialty physician group that contracts with Kaiser Permanente to provide care for patients with Kaiser insurance, accounting for 30 percent to 40 percent of the insurance market in California.

"Working for Permanente Medical Group allows me to work part-time also, so that I can enjoy life outside of medicine and take advantage of this beautiful place we call home," she said.

She is one of six general ophthalmologists who work with retina specialists at the Kaiser Santa Rosa facility, where she primarily cares for elderly patients with glaucoma and cataracts. Her surgical practice is largely cataract surgery with some eye plastic surgery consisting mostly of blepharoplasties and ptosis repair.

She recognizes and appreciates the gift her Canby Robinson Society scholarship afforded her personally and professionally.

"My CRS scholarship uniquely positioned me to make a specialty choice based on what I most enjoyed, rather than on the financial concerns of paying back the large debt that most medical students accumulate," she said.

- JON COOMER

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Esther and Daniel Penn on a recent trip to Bali.

Jeff Bontrager (right) with Lonnie S. Burnett, M.D., received the Canby Robinson Society's 2007 "Ideal Physician" award, presented to a member of the graduating class who possesses the intangible qualities of common sense, knowledge, thoughtfulness, personal warmth, gentleness and confidence that combine to make the "ideal physician." Bontrager will serve a residency in Medicine and Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.