Kansas Masonic Foundation pledges $15 million for KU cancer program

Jeffrey L. Sowder, president of the board of the Kansas Masonic Foundation, announces the foundation's pledge of $15 million for the Kansas Cancer Institute.

The Kansas Masonic Foundation has pledged $15 million for the Kansas Cancer Institute, a research center at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. The gift is among the three largest private gifts in KU history.

The Topeka-based foundation's gift to the Kansas University Endowment Association will help the institute in its effort to achieve designation as a National Cancer Institute center, Chancellor Robert Hemenway said. The NCI, a division of the National Institutes of Health, awards the designation to cancer centers for the quality and level of their research, education and patient care. At KU, clinical care for cancer patients is provided through the Kansas Cancer Center in the University of Kansas Hospital. Among the 61 NCI-designated cancer centers nationwide are the Mayo Clinic and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

With the addition of the Kansas Masons' latest pledge, the foundation's commitment for KU cancer research and treatment has reached $20 million since 1974.

"To unravel the mysteries of cancer, we need to create an environment that will attract top researchers and foster collaboration," Hemenway said. "By bringing in additional scientists, the support provided by this gift will help KU increase the amount of federal research grants received and in turn boost the economic development of this region's life sciences initiatives. It is our hope that these benefits will lead to a higher level of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer throughout the region. This would not be possible without the generosity of the Kansas Masons."

The Kansas Masonic Foundation's commitment includes a $500,000 gift for the William R. Jewell, M.D., Distinguished Kansas Masonic Professorship, which was announced in October. The professorship, which honors the current institute director, will provide the support to hire a full-time director, one of several requirements to achieve NCI status.

Other NCI requirements include demonstrating broad financial support from federal, state and private sources. A research center also must have at least three research programs, each with three researchers, and a research base of $4 million in peer-reviewed funding. The Kansas Cancer Institute already has almost $17 million in such funding, said Barbara Atkinson, dean of the KU School of Medicine.

The gift from the Kansas Masonic Foundation also will help the institute recruit an associate director for clinical trials and recruit at least six basic and clinical scientists to strengthen four existing research programs and build new ones, Atkinson said.

"This gift enables us to recruit the world's best cancer physicians and scientists," she said. "The foundation's support fosters cutting-edge research that leads to better prevention, better diagnosis and better treatment of all cancer patients throughout our region. This gift ensures cancer research and education here at the Kansas Cancer Institute will be the best this region has to offer."

Jeffrey L. Sowder, president of the board of the Kansas Masonic Foundation, said the foundation was confident in the quality of KU's cancer research.

"The Kansas Cancer Institute is a top-notch program," he said. "We want the institute to achieve NCI designation, something we're very excited about. Supporting the Kansas Cancer Institute is something that shows how we look to the future. This gift will allow us, KU and the institute's researchers to move forward in the fight against cancer.

"Cancer touches just about everyone's life in one way or another," Sowder added. "If we can be just a small part of the effort, or if we can help prevent it in any way, then our work is worthwhile. We really want to help make the elimination of cancer possible."

Established in 1966, the Kansas Masonic Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit organization that supports charitable, educational and scientific programs. The foundation is funded by voluntary gifts and endowments from Kansas Masons and their families and friends.

The gift from the foundation has put KU First: Invest in Excellence, over its initial goal of $500 million. The KU Endowment Association is conducting KU First, the largest campaign in KU history, on behalf of the university through 2004 to raise funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support. KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for KU.