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Chuck Durham, left, with UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and UNMC Eppley Cancer Center Director Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D. |
The award is given to those who’ve made significant contributions in the fight against cancer through research or patient care activities or by raising the public’s awareness of cancer.
The previous two recipients were Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf in 1998 and Sam Donaldson in 2000. Gen. Schwarzkopf, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army Central Command during Operation Desert Storm in 1990, is a prostate cancer survivor and was a national spokesperson for prostate cancer and served on numerous cancer-related boards. Donaldson, a veteran TV reporter with ABC News, is a melanoma survivor who worked behind the scenes to try to get the national budget for cancer research increased.
Durham, 87, continues to serve as chief executive officer of Durham Resources. He previously served as chairman and CEO of HDR, Inc., an international engineering and architectural firm. He was recognized Friday as the medical center’s all-time leading donor. His contributions have included:
- The single largest contribution ever to support construction of the Durham Research Center and a new employee parking structure in 2003;
- The creation of a permanent endowment fund through the University of Nebraska Foundation in 1998 to support innovative education and research programs in three key areas — arthritis, prostate and breast cancer, and minimally invasive surgery;
- A donation that allowed UNMC to become only the eighth medical center in the country to acquire the computer-assisted/robotic da Vinci Surgical System.
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Chuck Durham, left, with UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. |
“The Durham footprint on our community is incredible, and nowhere is that footprint bigger than at UNMC,” Dr. Cowan said. “The Durhams have always felt that research was important, and the Durham Research Center is a testimony to them. Our cancer research is growing exponentially, and much of this growth is due to the generosity of the Durhams.
“It has allowed us to recruit top notch scientists to Omaha and expand our research in many different areas. It has truly been a godsend. We can’t thank the Durhams enough.”
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., said: “I’ve never met a man like Chuck Durham. He has done so much. He’s had a remarkable career. He electrified rural Nebraska. He built the Air Force Academy. He even built part of the National Institutes of Health. His generosity with the medical center is beyond description. It has allowed us to take the next step toward becoming a world-class academic health science center.”
Fittingly, a new award was created for this year’s gala — the Margre and Chuck Durham Spirit of Nebraska Award. It was presented to the family of the late Liz Karnes, an Omaha community leader who died last year following a 12-year battle with cancer. Her husband, David, two of their four daughters (Korey and Kalen), and Liz’s parents, Bob and Mary Lueder, received the award.
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The Karnes family is recognized at the Ambassador of Hope Gala for the contributions in the fight against cancer. |
“We are so honored to receive this award,” said Korey Karnes. “To see all my mom’s friends here tonight..this is the best event ever.”
David Karnes, who served as U.S. senator for Nebraska from 1987 to 1989, jokingly remarked that “Liz was the most successful politician in the Karnes family.”
He noted that it was appropriate that Margre Durham was instrumental in encouraging Liz to run for the Westside Community Schools Board of Education. She served on the board for 17 years.
Dr. Cowan said, “Liz’s Legacy has been a tremendous addition to the medical center’s fund-raising initiatives.” He noted that the Liz’s Legacy Web site (www.lizslegacy.org) gets thousands of hits each month and this generates increased awareness for UNMC around the world.
Attendees at the Ambassador of Hope Gala were able to sign the Charter of Paris Against Cancer, a unique effort to bring world and medical leaders together in the fight against cancer. David Khayat, M.D., Ph.D., president of the National Institute of Cancer in France, delivered the 2004 Carol Bell Lectureship at UNMC on Nov. 4 and brought the charter to Omaha.
The charter was initiated at the World Summit Against Cancer in Paris in 2000. As one of the leading oncologists in the world in treating lymphoma, James Armitage, M.D., a professor and oncologist in the UNMC Internal Medicine Department, was invited to be one of the 100 original signers of the charter. Over time, Dr. Khayat hopes to get a million signatures on the Charter of Paris Against Cancer.
Prior to the Ambassador of Hope dinner, more than $500,000 was raised in an auction in which people bid on research in seven different types of cancer. By exceeding $500,000, Dr. Cowan said the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center qualified for a $1 million challenge grant from the Peter Kiewit Foundation.
Dr. Cowan urged all attendees to put June 4 on their calendars, as this is when the next major fund raiser for the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center – the Cattlemen’s Ball – will be held at the Wisner, Neb., ranch of Herb and Kathy Allen.
The Ambassador of Hope Gala was held at Qwest Center Omaha and attended by about 500 people. Walter and Suzanne Scott served as honorary chairpersons for the event. The general co-chairs were Jane Rips, Teri Teutsch and Susie Buffett. The event was hosted by the Friends of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, a community-based group committed to raising funds for cancer research.