Hearts of Gold
The mission of the Brown Medical Annual Fund (BMAF) is ever true: support the best and brightest students in their efforts to become agents of change through careers in medicine. This aim is meaningful to the many alumni, parents, faculty, and friends who make up the Brown medical community, and their loyalty has made celebrating 50 Years of Medicine at Brown so special.
The impact of sustained leadership giving to the BMAF cannot be understated. All students benefit from the research opportunities and the Doctoring and Scholarly Concentration programs it supports, but the BMAF helps individuals too. More than $500,000 went directly to medical student financial aid last year, supporting more than 20 students. They are from big cities and small towns. Some are from backgrounds typically underrepresented in medicine; some are the first in their families to attend college, let alone medical school. And all are learning how to make their future patients and communities healthier and safer every day.
This year, the BMAF introduced two new giving societies to recognize those who support the next generation of physicians at Brown: The 1972 Society, which honors the beginning of Brown’s four-year medical program; and the Circle of Friends. Together with the existing Dean’s Circle, these societies make up over 84 percent of BMAF donors. And in this golden anniversary year, dedicated members of our community went above and beyond by making a five-year commitment at one of these society levels. These are our Golden Gift donors.
A special thank you to our Golden Gift donors and all who support the BMAF. You are the heart of the Medical School!
Golden Gift donors not only see the potential of their gifts today, they believe in helping the Medical School
build a strong foundation for the next 50 years. A few of them told us why they feel this is so important to do.
“I made my Golden Gift to show a commitment to future graduates of Brown’s medical school. They are the next generation of leaders in the community and in the field of medicine. Supporting them is my way of making this world a better place.”
Alexes Hazen ’87 MD’96, P’18 ScM’20
“The past 50 years have been so rewarding as a Brown-educated physician and scientist, and I am incredibly proud that the Medical School has made tremendous progress and is consistently producing excellent physicians. There is no way that I could ever pay back fully the investment that Brown made in me as a student. The Golden Gift, as well as the scholarship that my spouse and I have established in our estate plan, are simply a down payment on that debt.”
Glenn W. Mitchell ’67 ScM’69 MD’75 RES’77
“What’s amazing about the 50-year milestone is that we still have the opportunity to interact with members of the very first medical school class! Their stories illustrate not only how much our school has grown, but also how much the art of medicine has remained the same. I give to the BMAF with the hope that our school will continue to grow and flourish, and because we absolutely need to support the next generation of physicians. They will be the ones taking care of us in the future!”
Sutchin R. Patel ’00 MD’04 RES’09
“Medicine has dramatically changed over the past 50 years, and we need to continue to have diversity in our medical schools in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, and educational background. I love the fact that Brown focuses on liberal medical education, where not only the hard sciences are emphasized. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my Brown education.”
Robert C. Pordy ’79 MD’82