Community Shows Tremendous Support During Fund-Raising Campaign For Medical College

Originally published on the College of Medicine's 25th anniversary, 1992.

Community support was “overwhelming” during a historic citizen's fund-raising campaign in 1963-64 to raise the initial money for a College of Medicine in Tucson, several campaign veterans recall.

FAME (Founders for Arizona Medical Education) was created in 1963 to raise $2 million to establish a medical college at The University of Arizona. Led by the late William R. Mathews, colorful editor and publisher of The Arizona Daily Star, FAME surpassed its goal, raising almost $3 million. Together with federal matching funds, $7.3 million was raised for the College of Medicine during 1964-65.

Although the Legislature had just appropriated $160,000 to hire a dean and to start planning the College, most observers today agree that the unprecedented fund-raising effort played a key role in making the UA College of Medicine a reality.

“I think we had to show that there was a true community effort to land the medical school,” says Fred H. Landeen, MD, now medical director of ambulatory surgery at Tucson Medical Center. “Raising the money shows the Legislature there was a financial commitment, as well as moral commitment, to the cause. We wanted everyone to know Tucson was very supportive of having a medical school at the UA.”

FAME was “an extremely tight-knit group with a lot of 'esprit de corps,' Landeen recalls. “People were really proud of that effort to see the medical school come to town.” Landeen served as FAME's liaison to the physicians of Pima County. “We were trying to make the physicians a real part of this medical school,” he says.

“I don't know if we would have a medical school if we hadn't raised the money here locally,” says John M. “Jack” Sakrison, a 90-year-old retired bank president who served on FAME. “I don't believe there would have been a legislative appropriation of that amount to build the school, so the community support was very important. And the community was excited and enthused about it – everyone wanted very much to see a medical school here.”

FAME member Nelson Davis says, “We were taking on a goal I felt was impossible to reach, but everyone put their 'shoulder to the wheel,' and we met our goal pretty comfortably. Heck yes, I was proud to have been a part of FAME,” adds the 74-year-old semi-retired insurance agent. “And I'm still proud!”

Henley Woods, who has a long distinguished record of service to the community and the UA, chaired the women's division of FAME.

“Of all the volunteer activities I've been part of, this was the most rewarding and productive,” she says. “As I told Mr. Matthews, 'I've never done anything like this before, but when you put Arizona, medicine, education and research together I don't see how you can miss!'”

Contributing to the fundraising campaign “was the thing to do,” she points out. “One of my ideas was to broaden the base of support so that everybody thought it was his or her medical school.” For example, she organized two receptions for the executive committees of local non-profit organizations so they could learn more about the plans for the College of Medicine.

“Practically every one of those organizations later contributed financially to the campaign, and many members of those organizations contributed individually also. The small gift was just as important as the large! And by broadening out support, we had the whole community behind us.”

William E. Kimble, a FAME member who served as a liaison with local attorneys, says, “Everyone was so enthusiastic about raising funds for the College of Medicine — my God, to have a medical school right here in Tucson! Just like the rest of the community, the legal community recognized that every doctor in Arizona had to go elsewhere for their training and that it would be a wonderful thing for Arizona to have a medical school.”

Other members of FAME were: the late Leicester H. Sherrill; the late Samuel C. McMillan; the late Carlos E. Ronstadt; the late William Spaid; the late Frank C. O'Reilly; the late John Sundt; the late Fred Sowerby, D.D.S.; the late Mundey Johnston; the late A.P. Brown; the late Leon Levy; the late Newsom Holesapple; and the late Adam Schantz.