May 15, 1998
Carl J. Herzog Foundation gives $1.5 million to medical school for Endowed Student Support Fund and for Odland Endowed Chair
The Carl J. Herzog Foundation has given the University of Washington School of Medicine $1.5 million dollars, of which half will establish an Endowed Student Support Fund. The remaining $750,000 will be added to funds for the George F. Odland Endowed Chair in Dermatology, created in 1989.
The gifts — announced today (Friday, May 15) at the annual Odland Lecture, named for the founding head of the Division of Dermatology — will be matched from other funds made available to the medical school, thereby bringing the total endowment to $3 million.
Dr. George Odland, the son of one of Seattle’s first dermatologists, Dr. Henry Odland, was division head from 1962 to 1988. He built a program that became nationally recognized for interdisciplinary research in skin biology and anatomy. The division is equally well known for studies of inherited and acquired skin disorders and wound healing. The present division head is Dr. John E. Olerud, professor of medicine and orthopaedic surgery and the holder of the Odland Chair.
George Odland died this past November. To honor his memory, a group of students receiving financial aid from the Endowed Student Support Fund will be designated as Odland Scholars. The fund will help the medical school sustain its commitment to a diverse student body that includes men and women of varying ages, races, national origins, backgrounds and talents, as well as individuals from under-represented backgrounds.
“The medical school is grateful to the Carl J. Herzog Foundation for its generous support of the education of talented students with a strong desire to serve the public as health-care professionals or medical researchers,” said Dr. Paul G. Ramsey, vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “The school is appreciative as well of the Foundation’s support of research and training in dermatology, so that the UW and its graduates can continue to make significant scientific and clinical advances in this field.”
As part of its training programs, the Division of Dermatology encourages innovative, interdisciplinary research by fellows and residents. According to Olerud, “Funds added to the Odland chair will provide resources for the recruitment of a nationally recognized skin biologist to add to the critical mass of faculty investigators in the UW’s Division of Dermatology. Additionally, these funds will enable us to support clinical scholarship and patient-based research within the Division. The Odland Scholars will have the opportunity to interact with Division faculty during their medical and research training to help them become aware of career possibilities in clinical and academic dermatology.”
Dr. Carl Herzog, a chemist who died in 1980, worked during his retirement years to promote and enhance basic and multidisciplinary research in dermatology at the country? prominent medical centers. During his earlier career, he was the founder of Duke Laboratories and a director of the Collapsule Company and the Nivea Corporation. His philanthropic efforts are continued by the trustees of the Herzog Foundation, under their president, Peter Bentley.
