$75 Million Gift

Largest gift in UTHealth Medical School history becomes a game changer — and name changer

Applause resounded Monday morning across the UTHealth Medical School campus, now to be known as the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School, thanks to a monumental $75 million gift from the John P. McGovern Foundation.

The largest gift in the history of the medical school was announced by UTHealth president Dr. Giuseppe Colasurdo at ceremonies held in Webber Plaza which connects the McGovern Medical School and the Texas Medical Center Library. The announcement was greeted with a standing ovation and resounding applause for benefactor Kathrine McGovern, president of the foundation.

Colasurdo spoke of the gift as "transformational and visionary . . . supporting student scholarships, faculty endowments, scientific discovery and, of course, the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics. It will have an immediate impact on our school as the entire gift will go to endowments in support our students and faculty for generations to come."

The gift represents the pinnacle of philanthropy that the McGoverns have exhibited throughout the city and across the medical center. Six schools at UTHealth have endowed professorships that bear the McGovern name as well as a number of student scholarships.

"My late husband was devoted to excellence in patient care, research and education, the same high standards that the UT medical school pursues daily," Kathrine McGovern said. "He also understood how to manage money . . . more importantly how to make it grow. He loved doing that and seeing his efforts go back to helping people in the areas that he felt were important. He would be so very proud."

The ceremony included the launch of a new tradition — presentation of white coats to three medical students who are McGovern scholarship recipients. In addition, professors seated on the first rows in the plaza officially donned their new white coats bearing the McGovern Medical School insignia.

Joining in the program were McGovern Foundation director Bill Shrader and UTHealth development board chair Bob Graham, who observed, "This truly extraordinary gift to our community and to UTHealth represents a game-changing moment that will impact the way that health care is taught and delivered for generations to come."

McGovern scholarship students Matthew Forster and Elzia Broussard thank Kathrine McGovern for the major gift to UTHealth.

News, Shelby, McGovern Medical School unveiling, Nov. 2015, Matthew Forster, Esther Osuji, Kathrine McGovern

Photo courtesy of McGovern Medical School

McGovern scholarship students Matthew Forster and Elzia Broussard thank Kathrine McGovern for the major gift to UTHealth.

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bowled over

Houston artist dishes on Food Bank fundraiser happening this weekend

Picture of several artists at a table with a bunch of handmade ceramic bowls.

Photo courtesy Paula Murphy

Ceramics professor Cori Cryer and her students from Lone Star College Kingwood and the bowls they donated to the 20th Empty Bowls fundraiser

On Saturday, May 16, shoppers have an opportunity to feed those in need by purchasing unique, handcrafted items. The 20th Empty Bowls event takes place at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards from 10 am to 3 pm. A preview party takes place on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm (buy tickets here).

The fundraiser is a collaboration between Houston-area ceramists, woodturners, and artists working in all media and Silver Street Studios.

Shoppers can purchase one-of-a-kind bowls for $25 each (larger bowls are priced accordingly). A simple lunch from Salata, a sweet treat from Ben & Jerry’s, and iced coffee from Katz Coffee is served until it runs out. Every dollar of the purchases goes to the Houston Food Bank, which estimates that for every dollar donated, it’s able to provide three meals to Houstonians in need. Since its inception, Empty Bowls Houston has raised $1,208,959 for the Houston Food Bank, which equates to more than 3.6 million meals.

The event also includes live music and art demos. More than 2,000 bowls will be available for purchase, donated by area artists.

Empty Bowls began as a grassroots effort started many years ago at a high school in Michigan and is now held all over the world. Nearly everything for Empty Bowls events, from the food served to the venues hosting events and the bowls for sale are donated.

Cori Cryer, a professor of ceramics at Lone Star College Kingwood, is one of those who, along with her students, donated bowls for the fundraiser. She’s been involved with the effort for all of its 20 years in Houston, and before that in other cities.

“When I started donating, I didn't have a whole lot of money,” Cryer tells CultureMap. “I was a graduate student, and so this was a way for me to give back to the local community. And I think my students today kind of recognize that same feel. You know, they may not have money to send a check off to someone, [but this is] an easy way for them to be able to contribute to the community.”

Cryer teaches Ceramics I and Ceramics II to a variety of dual-credit high school students, college students, and continuing education students. Those in her Ceramics II classes are required to create five bowls to donate to Empty Bowls. But her students in her introductory class often end up donating as well. This year, she and her students provided approximately 150 bowls for the event.

Cryer said that the style of bowls for sale range from something as small as a condiment bowl to much larger serving bowls As each bowl is an individual work, they represent a variety of styles and themes. One of her students this year designed a glazed, ceramic leaf-shaped bowl with ceramic insects on it.

“There's a ladybug and a caterpillar and a spider,” she says, each created out of clay and positioned around the bowl.

Cryer loves seeing how the artists use their imaginations and abilities.

“Most of my students do throw their bowls on the pottery wheel, but that's not required,” she says. “They can hand-build them. It’s completely up to them what kind of construction technique they use.”

Cryer loves knowing that this event is a way for students to see that their artistic efforts can have lasting impact on the community around them. In addition to being able to support the Houston Food Bank, the bowls her class donates, she knows, take on special meaning for those who purchase them.

“I tell my students there is a pot for every person and a person for every pot,” she says.

In fact, one of her personal favorite bowls is one she purchased from an Empty Bowls sale.

“It's a very small bowl, maybe like three inches in diameter, and two inches tall, and it's a little pink pig that I think an elementary student made,” she said. “He has no tail, and he has no ears, but he has a snout, and it is definitely a pig. And I love that little bowl. I have it sitting on my desk at home.”

Cryer knows shoppers attending the Empty Bowls sale will find similar, soon-to-be-beloved items.

The Saturday event is free. Those wishing to attend the preview party on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm, which offers light bites, beer and wine, and the first chance to purchase bowls, can purchase a $50 ticket online. In addition, Archway Gallery is hosting an exhibition of 30 one-of-a-kind bowls that can be purchased as part of the Empty Bowls fundraiser. The exhibit runs through May 30.