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.
The gift will establish the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes, designed in collaboration with cancer patients and survivors to create a new model that provides patient-centered cancer care throughout a person’s diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
“Revolutionary advances will flow from this partnership,” said UT President Bill Powers in a press release announcing the gift. “Lives will be saved, and lives will be made far better because of the LIVESTRONG Foundation’s generosity and strategic vision.”
The $50 million gift comes during the tail end of UT’s Campaign for Texas, which has raised more than $3 billion, the most ever by a higher education institution in Texas and among the largest amounts raised by a U.S. public university in a single campaign. The campaign ends Aug. 31.
Watch highlights from the press conference announcement, including moving personal testimonials from LIVESTRONG CEO Doug Ulman and Texas Sen. Kirk Watson, both cancer survivors:
(See the full press conference video at the bottom of this page.)
Approximately 40.8 percent of people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetime, according to the National Cancer Institute. It is estimated that there will be 1,665,540 new cases of cancer in 2014.
“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,” said Doug Ulman, president and CEO of the LIVESTRONG Foundation, which has served 2.8 million people affected by cancer since being founded 17 years ago. “The Institutes are a game-changer for us and a game-changer for the cancer community.”
Examples of practical, real-life solutions from the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes at the Dell Medical School could include cutting-edge prevention practices that reduce the number of people diagnosed, research-based and patient-designed care that improves outcomes for survivors and attention to global policy issues such as anti-stigma campaigns and fertility education.
“We can do more than heal we can improve the process of healing,” said Dr. Clay Johnston, dean of the Dell Medical School. “This important gift will help us do just that.”
With this gift, the LIVESTRONG foundation joins 260,000 UT students, alumni, faculty members, staff and friends and more than 12,000 organizations who have contributed gifts large and small to empower the university to conduct world-changing research, pioneer new areas of educational excellence and transform the lives of thousands of individuals.
Response to the News
Community response and quotes from the press conference
@LIVESTRONGCEO @UTAustin @livestrong @DellMedSchool Very exciting! The beginning of a new era in medical education. True healthcare reform!
— Adam Dole (@adamdole) August 19, 2014
Thanks @livestrong for helping making patient-centered care a priority at the new @UTAustin med school! #hookem #survivorship #livestrong
— Bianca Garcia (@BZGarcia) August 19, 2014
It’s a great time to be at @UTAustin. Invest in the students/research, invest in the future. Thanks, @livestrong! http://t.co/sjRYQyoQUW
— Hugo Rojo (@hugorojo) August 19, 2014
Proud Longhorn! Congrats to @UTAustin for knocking $3 billion goal out of the park Thank you to @livestrong for investing in UT #HookEm
— Mary Dixson (@marydixson) August 19, 2014
Burnt orange + yellow is a partnership DO: @LIVESTRONG + @DellMedSchool @UTAustin = the future of cancer care: http://t.co/Gex4tfPvoq
— Stacy F.S. Weitzner (@StacyWeitzner) August 19, 2014
It’s Texas. Must have a football reference. “We gave the ball to @livestrong, and they got it over the goal line.” UT Pres Bill Powers
— LIVESTRONG Advocacy (@LIVESTRONGADV) August 19, 2014
“Friends of ours are going to be diagnosed today, and it’s incumbent on us to make sure they have access to care.” –@LIVESTRONGCEO
— UT Austin (@UTAustin) August 19, 2014
“The future is the chance to team with a great new medical school at a world-class research university.” –@KirkPWatson on @livestrong gift
— UT Austin (@UTAustin) August 19, 2014
Watch the full press conference announcing the partnership:
More Stories about UT’s Fight against Cancer
- Until There’s a Cure: 21 Ways Longhorns Fight Cancer
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- Synthetic Molecule Makes Cancer Self-Destruct
About the Campaign for Texas (click each image to enlarge)
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.@livestrong‘s $50 Million gift pushes #UTAustin past $3 Billion goal http://t.co/YNtBxKIfvQ pic.twitter.com/M9LLAXvPOT
— UT Austin (@UTAustin) August 19, 2014
