A historic year for UTHealth Houston

As we celebrate the accomplishments of Fiscal Year 2023, we give thanks for the friends whose philanthropy made them possible. The successful conclusion of the university’s largest philanthropic effort yet—the Many Faces. One Mission. campaign, crowns a year of notable advances in our mission to continue saving and improving lives.

Shedding pounds with healthier plates—and bank accounts

While vegetables and credit scores may occupy vastly different spaces in life, a new partnership brings them together to address obesity and diabetes in low-income Houston communities.

The pulse of cardiovascular care

Through the Many Faces. One Mission. fundraising campaign, we are working to ensure more patients with heart and vascular conditions can get back to the lives they love. You can join us with a gift to the Department of Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, supporting initiatives such as providing personalized treatments for congenital heart defects and educating tomorrow’s leaders in cardiovascular medicine. Read on to see how friends like you help us rewrite the narrative for patients.

Building on 50 years of excellence

For 50 years, the many faces of UTHealth Houston have committed themselves to saving and improving lives. Just as our supporters have helped open new possibilities in health education, research, and patient care for each generation, we give thanks for the generosity they showed in Fiscal Year 2022.

Staying ahead of the curve

Don Le, DDS, believes general practice dentists will be placing a lot more implants in the future, and he wants to help his students be ready for it.

Encouraging readers to grow

Putting books into the hands of young children can change their lives. With the support of CenterPoint Energy, the Reach Out and Read program is working with doctors’ offices to give even more free books to children from underserved communities so that students can flourish in school.

Betting on the Future

In their first year at McGovern Medical School, John "JT" Thomas, MD '88, and Azreena "Reena" Thomas, MD '88, came out winners when they met during a trip to Delta Downs Race Track. Crediting their time at McGovern Medical School as the most formative in their lives, the couple established a scholarship to help future medical students pursue their dreams.

THINKing ahead

Neurology is personal for Shaun Varghese, MD ’09. He remembers the shock of hearing his cousin died in his sleep from a seizure. That inspired him to focus on neurology for children and others who may not have access to the care they need.

Nursing the skills needed to be leaders

After graduating from Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston, Deborah “Debbie” Adams, BSN ’84, served as an ER nurse for 14 years before going into business. Now, as the Many Faces. One Mission. campaign propels education forward, she is making the single largest gift to the school from an alumna to establish the Deborah Garrett Adams Leadership Academy.

The science of being human

Students, colleagues, and friends of the late Henry W. Strobel, PhD, still envision him three-stepping through the labs of MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School in his clerical collar, toes tapping as he skips toward another meeting. In the years since his passing in 2019, his delightful footsteps and guiding words still echo.

The power of resilience

For populations across Texas, the threads of daily life intertwine and connect as residents face hardships like navigating the pandemic’s twists and turns. With a commitment to strengthening local people and places that goes back 75 years, The George Foundation carries forward a family legacy to improve lives in Fort Bend County, Texas.

A bridge to better health

Bridges connect distant people and places, linking entire communities through architectural marvels. These structures came to take on a different meaning for Harry E. Bovay, Jr., who worked to bridge gaps in health care, education, and community development through philanthropy.

A purpose to help and heal

Domestic violence is a major public health concern that causes a ripple effect of repercussions. Carla Diaz-Lewis and her husband, Kenneth Lewis, are helping to teach health care workers and community members how to identify and assist victims of domestic violence through their commitment to establish a lecture series at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth.

A new milestone in generosity

Amidst the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we launched the public phase of the most ambitious fundraising campaign in UTHealth history as our supporters gave with visionary generosity in Fiscal Year 2021.

Soaring on winds of change

While our collective understanding of science and technology may be increasing at extraordinary rates, so too is the incidence of mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder. Longtime UTHealth Development Board Member Drew Kanaly and his wife, Elizabeth, recognize the crossroads at which we stand and our unprecedented potential to rewrite this narrative for behavioral health. 

Two decades, one commitment

When they returned to the United States in 2001 after several years abroad, Joseph B. McCormick, MD, and his wife, Susan Fisher-Hoch, MD, could have written their own ticket.  

“We thought a lot about it and decided, ‘Instead of going back to a big university, let’s think about going to a community where we can really make a difference,’” McCormick remembers.

A future full of smiles

For children, poor oral health can spark harmful consequences that may affect the entire course of their lives—from pain that impairs concentration in school to discolored teeth that might impact their confidence.