Kansas Masonic Foundation gives $500K for KU professorship

LAWRENCE -- The Kansas Masonic Foundation has given more than $500,000 for a professorship that could help propel a University of Kansas institute into the top ranks of cancer centers, Chancellor Robert Hemenway announced today.

The professorship will help KU recruit an internationally recognized researcher to direct the Kansas Cancer Institute and help the institute win National Cancer Institute designation. NCI-designated centers include the Mayo Clinic and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The Kansas Cancer Institute is a part of the School of Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. It is affiliated with the Kansas Cancer Center, a clinical care facility in the University of Kansas Hospital.

The Topeka-based foundation's gift to the Kansas University Endowment Association established the William R. Jewell, M.D., Distinguished Kansas Masonic Professorship. The professorship honors Jewell, director of the institute and KU professor of surgery, for his longtime dedication to cancer research and treatment. A search is under way for candidates for the professorship.

"Dr. Jewell has helped mold the Kansas Cancer Institute into a well-known and nationally respected research facility," Hemenway said. "It is wonderful that the Kansas Masonic Foundation has generously chosen to honor his commitment to cancer research and education."

The foundation has provided more than $5 million in support for KU since 1974. Mark Nelson, executive director of the foundation, said the organization is committed to cancer research and education.

"The Kansas Cancer Institute has the means to change lives," Nelson said. "It was important to our organization to make sure that Dr. Jewell continues to be recognized for his dedication to finding a cure for cancer and for building a nationally recognized program in cancer research at the KU Medical Center."

Since he was named director in 1996, Jewell has divided his time between the institute and the KU Department of Surgery, where he is a practicing oncology surgeon. The professorship will provide support to hire a full-time director, a requirement to achieve national cancer institute status, Jewell said. The NCI, which is one of 27 divisions of the National Institutes of Health, awards the designation to cancer centers for the quality and level of their cancer research. If selected as an NCI-designated cancer center, the Kansas Cancer Institute would rank among the most respected cancer research programs in the United States, he said.

"There are only 61 such centers -- most of them concentrated on the East and West Coasts -- so currently citizens of this region must travel to St. Louis, Omaha or Dallas to find an NCI-designated center," Jewell said. "This designation would also mean the ability to attract and retain world-renowned cancer researchers to Kansas City, and provide our patients access to clinical trials being conducted only at these top-tier research and clinical care centers."

Jewell thanked the Kansas Masons for their support.

"Having the Kansas Masonic Foundation fund a distinguished professorship in my name is a tremendous honor and a very humbling experience," Jewell said. "This professorship will provide the future director of the Kansas Cancer Institute with funds that will help us move the cancer program toward NCI designation."

Established in 1966, the Kansas Masonic Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit organization that supports charitable, educational and scientific programs. The foundation is funded by voluntary gifts and endowments from Kansas Masons and their families and friends.

The gift from the foundation counts toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in the history of KU. The Kansas University Endowment Association is conducting KU First on behalf of the university through 2004 to raise funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support. KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for KU.