University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Form New Development Foundation

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) have joined forces to create, for the first time, a unified fundraising organization, it was announced today. The new University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Medical and Health Sciences Foundation will raise philanthropic funds on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh's Schools of the Health Sciences and the medical center. Leading the new organization is Clyde B. Jones III, who has been appointed vice chancellor for health sciences development at Pitt and senior vice president of UPMC development.

Most recently, Mr. Jones, a native of Washington, Pa., was director of development for New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where he managed a staff of 55. He successfully completed a $600 million capital campaign, which enabled the construction of a new major hospital and research laboratory building and helped launch groundbreaking capital campaigns for both New York-Presbyterian and Weill Medical College. He also was able to raise more than $200 million in each of the last two calendar years for the hospital and college. His 15 years of experience include every phase of development: annual campaigns, special events, major gifts, and corporate and foundation gifts.

"We welcome Mr. Jones to the University and UPMC. He has had a distinguished career in the development field and is passionate about academic medicine. His energy and knowledge, coupled with our commitment to providing comprehensive and meaningful opportunities for philanthropic giving for clinical medicine and health science research will ensure the success of the new Foundation," said University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.

Chancellor Nordenberg went on to explain that while in the past both UPMC and the Schools of the Health Sciences have benefited greatly from the generosity of the community, alumni, corporations, and foundations, it is hoped that this tradition of giving will greatly expand.

Now, potential donors can come to one source, instead of several different development offices, to identify the range of philanthropic possibilities open to them. This combined approach is expected to bring greater efficiencies and maximize giving to both institutions. Through the Medical and Health Sciences Foundation, donors will be offered options to support research or clinical care in a particular disease or treatment area, i.e., cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc., or for specific types of projects involving patient care, basic science, education or capital development throughout the University and UPMC.

"In the past 30 years, this academic medical center has risen from 37th to 8th in terms of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)," stated Jeffrey Romoff, president of UPMC. "Through this new foundation and the work of Clyde Jones, we hope to mirror that rise by bringing our level of philanthropic giving up to that of the nation's other leading academic medical centers. As a relative newcomer to the ranks of the country's elite medical centers, we do not enjoy the same advantage of history and tradition as the others. However, we believe the strength and quality of our programs make this goal realistic," Romoff concluded.

The level of philanthropic giving at the nation's premier academic medical centers averages about $100 million per year, while that of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh's health sciences schools has averaged about $35 million.

"The University of Pittsburgh's Schools of the Health Sciences combined with the clinical programs at UPMC present an exciting and unparalleled opportunity for development, " stated Mr. Jones. "Building support for the high-quality clinical programs, medical research and educational endeavors here is both a privilege and an exciting challenge."

Mr. Jones went on to say that potential donors understand the importance of quality health care and first-rate biomedical research. He said that this is particularly true now, when the need has never been greater, given the increasing financial pressures on the health care industry. He added that for many academic medical centers, philanthropic giving is at an all-time high, even in the current economic climate.

The University and UPMC will provide joint funding for the Medical and Health Sciences Foundation. Existing UPMC and University development staff members will assume positions within the new organization that maximize their skills and talents.

The focus of the new foundation will be on the academic medical center, which includes the University of Pittsburgh's Schools of the Health Sciences, the McGowan Center for Regenerative Medicine, UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Shadyside, UPMC Montefiore, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, among other facilities. The foundations at the other UPMC hospitals will remain independent, although staff from the Medical and Health Sciences Foundation will collaborate and consult as appropriate.

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9/11/03