A $50 million donation to the forthcoming Dell Medical Center at UT-Austin will establish the Livestrong Cancer Institutes.
The gift, which will be doled out over the next decade, has pushed the university over its fundraising goal to raise $3 billion over eight years and looks to provide a new model of care for cancer patients in Travis County and beyond.
The Livestrong Cancer Institutes will collaborate with cancer patients and survivors to develop new ways to make cancer care center around the patient—also known as survivorship research.
“The practical and physical and psycho-social issues that these individuals and their families face, can often times be more stressful, more impactful and more dramatic than what they face clinically,” says Livestrong Foundation CEO Doug Ulman.
Dean Clay Johnston of the Dell Medical School says when the school opens it will immediately be able to reexamine how health care is delivered. He says he hopes this gift is the start of a long partnership with Livestrong.
“The creativity of Livestrong, the spirit of Livestrong those are things that we want from Livestrong as part of our culture. So we want to partner not just throw money over the fence,” Johnston says.
UT-Austin President Bill Powers says these partnerships – as well as gifts similar to the one from Livestrong – are increasingly important part of the UT System’s expansion. But this partnership, he says, will further the school’s reputation as a top-tier research institute.
“I think, will be important to set us apart because it will focus on healthcare and cancer care delivery, improving the lives of cancer patients both from a medical point of view and a sociological point of view,” Powers says. “So it’s very patient-oriented, but it will also help with the kind of research that helps move cancer care ahead."
The money will be donated over a ten year period. Students will begin enrolling in the Dell Medical School in 2016.
