Middleton Society Celebration Highlights Student-Donor Connections

Middleton Society members rarely get a chance to interact informally with a group of University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health students at one time. And medical students hardly ever spend an evening rubbing elbows with the school's top donors.

But those kinds of connections were made at this year's Middleton Society Celebration on September 16, 2011, when 22 School of Medicine and Public Health students mingled with approximately 150 donors.

It was a unique opportunity for all parties concerned.

"We wanted to showcase select students and the special programs they represent during the social hour as a bonus for Middleton Society members," says Karen Peterson, executive director of the Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association (WMAA). "And we wanted students to meet the people whose gifts help pay for those programs-and so much more at our medical school."

Students answered questions as Middleton Society members read their posters describing TRIUMPH (Training in Urban Medicine and Public Health), WARM (Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine), the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD program) and MEDiC, the student-run volunteer clinics for underserved patients in Madison.

Charles Frinak, MD '77, a family practice physician at Beaver Dam Community Hospital, welcomed the opportunity to meet current medical students. He had been closely involved with some of them as a preceptor in the past, but not for several years.

"It was great to feel student energy and enthusiasm," Frinak says.

Middleton Society Dinner Photos

He chatted with Megan Schultz at the MEDiC poster, noting that the program was somewhat similar to the Blue Bus that began during his time.

"I think MEDiC is a good clinical experience for first- and second-year students," he says. "It also has a positive impact on the community."

Schultz says it was a privilege to hear about the varied experiences and passions of Frinak and other Middleton Society members.
 
"It is not often that we students get the chance to speak one-on-one with such distinguished and experienced professionals," she says. "It was wonderful to be able to personally thank these men and women who have given so generously to my education at the SMPH."

Chadd Funk, an MD/PhD student, agreed that it was a privilege to meet and personally thank some of the donors.

"I especially enjoyed hearing about their motivations for giving to our school," he says. "Some donors shared personal stories about their past interactions with the medical community as a patient, while others spoke of lost loved ones, for whom the gifts represented a special part of a lasting legacy."

Funk, who recently completed his first two years of clinical training and has begun his doctoral work, was also impressed by the genuine interest donors had in his experiences.

"It was a meaningful evening that, in a sense, pulled back the curtain and allowed us to meet an extraordinary group of people whose generosity sustains our school and enables the many accomplishments of our faculty and students," he says.

Funk was one of 11 students who were featured in a video shown to the entire assemblage right after dinner. Many people found the students' humility and heartfelt gratitude very touching.

"We have never been able to truly capture the sincerity of the feelings of so many students," Peterson says. "The video was a great way to convey those feelings."

Students remained front and center when Dean Robert Golden asked recently named Bardeen Scholars to come to the stage for recognition. The scholarship, named in honor of the school's first dean, acknowledges fourth-year students who have exhibited academic success, personal character and professional ethics.

Faculty member Michael Fiore, MD, MPH, director of the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, was also honored at the gathering. He was given the Folkert Belzer Award for lifetime contributions to his field. Thanks to Fiore's two decades of leadership, the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention has created and disseminated clinical and public policy strategies used throughout Wisconsin and around the world.

Capping the recognitions, Golden presented Mark LeFebvre, long-time development leader for the school, a small token of appreciation - a captain's chair - for his years of service.

Even though preventive cardiologist James Stein, MD, chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was the last speaker on the evening's program, he kept the audience completely engaged with a lively talk on the newest approaches to detecting and preventing heart disease.