Stories of Giving

Bringing together some of the greatest minds in biomedical research under one roof, the new education and research building at UMass Chan Medical School will be an incubator of scientific collaboration.

Gary Vanderweil is mostly retired from his career at Vanderweil Engineers, but he still commutes regularly into the company’s Boston office from Cohasett, where he and his wife Anne live. As he spoke to us via Zoom about his and Anne’s enthusiastic support of UMass Chan Medical School, the evolving skyline of the Seaport District sparkled behind his desk; a fitting backdrop for an engineer who designs buildings around the world. Two of Anne and Gary’s children followed in Gary’s footsteps, joining Vanderweil, but son Stefan Vanderweil, MD’12 R’16, chose a different path that took flight at UMass Chan. 

Everyone who runs the Boston Marathon has a story. Entering, training for and completing the famously challenging race is undoubtedly a journey filled with twists, turns, painful lows and exhilarating highs. 

This year, 149 fourth-year students at the T.H. Chan School of Medicine gathered in the Medical School lobby on March 17 with friends, family and faculty to experience Match Day together.

Over 200 alumni of UMass Chan Medical School gathered on May 6 in Worcester to reconnect at Reunion 2023, including members of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Classes of 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 and graduates of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing.

The Class of ’78 has left its mark on the world, improving the lives of countless people by providing healing, comfort and hope through medicine. Many stay connected to UMass Chan through our alumni association, class reunions and as donors to the Medical School. In a collective effort, the Class of ’78’s reunion fund brings important financial assistance to UMass Chan students; the class earned the participation award at their last reunion in 2018, with 44.6 percent of class members donating.

Donna Grogan, MD R'87 P'18, remembers when the main campus of UMass Chan Medical School was a vast, grassy field. Growing up in Worcester in the 1960s and ’70s, Donna witnessed firsthand the remarkable formation of the Medical School, a place that would go on to play a significant role in her life. Most recently, Donna and her husband, Paul, established an endowed scholarship to help UMass Chan students fulfill their dreams of a career in medicine.

Over the last five years, the Medical School has bolstered its commitment
to the local community through 32 community service projects funded by the Remillard Family Community Service Fund. Established in 2015 through a $3 million gift from the Remillard Family Foundation, this endowed fund is dedicated to ongoing support for community outreach led by UMass Chan faculty, students, staff and partners.

UMass Chan Medical School cancer biologist William Flavahan, PhD, is advancing his studies of the genetic processes leading to brain tumors through an esteemed award from the Sontag Foundation. Since receiving the four-year, $600,000 Distinguished Scientist Award in December 2021, Dr. Flavahan’s lab has progressed toward the ultimate goal—the development of more effective ways to treat brain tumors.

Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, UMass Chan Medical School is establishing endowed chairs at a steady pace, bringing the total number to 63.