Endowed Programs and Scholarships

Through the generosity of donors and other collaborations, endowments have been established in support of students, residents, faculty, clinicians and other areas of WMed.

Programs

• Battle Creek Family Practice Residency Endowment Fund

  

  This endowment was established through a $50,000 grant from Bronson Battle Creek Hospital (BBCH) Community Partners in honor of Charles L. Siefert, MD and P. Jeffrey Colquhoun, MD. The funds are to be used to provide enhancements to the Battle Creek Family Practice residency program that supports recruitment, retention, and overall quality of the residency program, as a component of BBCH Community Partners' priority to retain graduates to the program as healthcare providers in the greater Battle Creek community.

  Dr. Siefert was raised in Battle Creek and then graduated from Kalamazoo College and the University of Michigan Medical School. After service as a surgeon in the U.S. Air Force, he returned to Battle Creek and opened his own Urology practice. He donated many hours of leadership to the community, serving as the Mayor of Battle Creek. He was instrumental in the merging of the City of Battle Creek and Battle Creek Township, establishing the Math & Science Center as well as NorthPoint Woods senior living community. He also served on the Battle Creek Community Foundation Board and was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Battle Creek.

  Born and raised in Battle Creek, Dr. Colquhoun graduated from Lakeview Public Schools and went on to graduate from The University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wayne State University School of Medicine. He interned at Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver Colorado and completed his residency in Ophthalmology at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. When he returned to Battle Creek to work as a physician, he served as co-chair of the Battle Creek Community Prayer Breakfast, and on the boards of the Family Y-Center, Battle Creek Unlimited, CityLinC Ministries, and the Calhoun County Medical Society. He was an elder at First Presbyterian Church and on the board of First Wesleyan Church. In addition to serving as President of the Battle Creek Development Enterprise, LLC for 15 years, he helped establish the Brookside Ambulatory Surgery Center, where he served as Medical Director from 2002-2007.

  

• Victor A. Berglund M.D. Endowment for Continuing Education

  

  "The Victor A. Berglund M.D. Endowment for Continuing Education continues to touch lives and enhance our community just as Dr. Vic did during his career" - Mrs. Victor Berglund

  Victor A. Berglund, M.D., or Dr. Vic as he was known, practiced family medicine in Kalamazoo for 43 years. He was passionate about lifelong learning, which was the inspiration for the Victor A. Berglund M.D. Endowment for Continuing Education established at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation after his passing in the fall of 2000.

• Curtis M. Hanson Orthopaedic Visiting Professor

  This endowment provides support for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery to bring to Kalamazoo visiting professors who give medical students, residents, and faculty the cutting edge view in all areas of orthopaedic surgery and care.

  In 1966, Dr. Curtis M. Hanson founded the Orthopaedic Residency Training Program in Kalamazoo and subsequently served 24 years as the Orthopaedic Residency Program Chief. This, in turn, created a rich heritage for the medical community in Kalamazoo, which culminated in the formation and success of what is now WMed. Over 40 years after the creation of this first program, it continues to be strong and fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) - with the benefit of not only strong leadership, but the participation of many former residents as members of the volunteer community teaching faculty.

  

  "The presence of a medical school enhances the academic reputation of the university as a whole. From the sciences to humanities, every program is impacted in a positive way when affiliated with a medical school. Research that is performed at the medical school will carry the name of Western Michigan University and will bring awareness of excellence at a national and international level. Deb and I, as alumni, have always believed that WMU provided a firm undergraduate foundation for future success and having a medical school association will affirm that opinion and allow WMU to better compete on a regional and national level. We are proud to be able to help in any way to give back to the school that provided the foundation and opportunities to us and to our family." ~ Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Debra Ryan, on why they created this endowment fund for WMed.

  Dr. Ryan is an orthopaedic surgeon and a past resident of the Southwest Michigan Area Health Education Center in Kalamazoo (now WMed). Both Dr. and Mrs. Ryan are Western Michigan University alumni and donors.

• Michael R. Liepman M.D. Lectureship

  Dr. Michael R. Liepman's contributions to WMed and Southwest Michigan are significant. The number of lives impacted -- and saved -- by Dr. Liepman are in great measure and he affected positive change in our community.

  

  Dr. Liepman was truly a model of what the medical school is working to become by exemplifying the school's foundational mission of educating and inspiring lifelong learners to be exceptional clinicians, leaders, educators, advocates, and researchers of tomorrow. He did this by demonstrating each of WMed's values.

  Current and incoming students to the medical school will realize Dr. Liepman's generosity and contributions as they aspire to become excellent physicians. Additionally, a large number of faculty and staff have benefited -- and will continue to benefit -- from his goodwill.

  This endowment supports the Michael R. Liepman M.D. Endowed Lectureship, an annual event that honors Dr. Liepman and features speakers who are prolific in the treatment of addiction and trauma-related disorders.

  Further contributions for the Michael R. Liepman M.D. Endowed Lectureship should be made to the Department of Psychiatry endowment fund.

• E. Dennis Lyne Orthopaedic Visiting Professor

  This endowment provides support for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery to bring to Kalamazoo visiting professors who give the medical students, residents, and faculty the cutting edge view in all areas of orthopaedic surgery and care.

  Dr. E. Dennis Lyne graduated from Johns Hopkins University and specialized in Orthopaedic Surgery for over 40 years.

  

  In 1991, he became Professor for the Michigan State University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in Pediatrics at what is now WMed. Dr. Lyne became Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery in 2001 and during that time carefully chose and trained young orthopaedic surgeons.

  "The presence of a medical school enhances the academic reputation of the university as a whole. From the sciences to humanities, every program is impacted in a positive way when affiliated with a medical school. Research that is performed at the medical school will carry the name of Western Michigan University and will bring awareness of excellence at a national and international level. Deb and I, as alumni, have always believed that WMU provided a firm undergraduate foundation for future success and having a medical school association will affirm that opinion and allow WMU to better compete on a regional and national level. We are proud to be able to help in any way to give back to the school that provided the foundation and opportunities to us and to our family." ~ Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Debra Ryan, on why they created this endowment fund for the WMed.

  Dr. Ryan is an orthopaedic surgeon and a past resident of the Southwest Michigan Area Health Education Center in Kalamazoo (now WMed). Both Dr. and Mrs. Ryan are Western Michigan University alumni and donors.

• Sherwood B. Winslow M.D. Distinguished Lectureship

  Norman Williamson, Jr. was the grandson of W.K. Kellogg, founder of the Kellogg Company and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  Mr. Williamson wrote of recollections of life with his grandfather in the 1999 biography entitled "An Intimate Glimpse of a Shy Grandparent, W.K. Kellogg".  Mr. Williamson also worked at the Kellogg Company for a number of years.

  Even though he eventually resided in California, Norman Williamson had strong ties and many friends in Battle Creek.  One of those lifelong friends was Dr. Sherwood B. Winslow.

  

  Dr. Winslow became a prominent physician in Battle Creek, where he was Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery at Leila Y. Post Montgomery Hospital where he initiated the surgical intern training program with the surgery department of the University of Michigan Hospital from 1947-1963. He was also Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery for Community Hospital. Dr. Winslow was President of the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Surgeons and on the Board of Directors of the America College of Surgeons, President of the Frederick A. Collier Surgical Society, and President of the Calhoun Medical Society.  He participated in and served many community organizations and hospital boards. He was an inductee into the first Battle Creek Health System Hall of Fame in 2009 (posthumously).

  As a tribute to honor his longtime friend, Norman Williamson created a special endowed fund at the Battle Creek Community Foundation.

  The funds are used to hold the Sherwood B. Winslow M.D. Distinguished Lectureship.  Each year since 1988, a well-respected speaker has been invited to Battle Creek to provide an insightful, though-provoking lecture to physicians, allied health professionals, community members and family members of Dr. Sherwood B. Winslow. 

Scholarships

• Charles C. Zhang and Lynn L. Chen-Zhang Endowed Scholarship

  

  The Charles C. Zhang and Lynn L. Chen-Zhang Endowed Scholarship for Medical Students provides tuition support for students in the MD program through scholarships awarded by the medical school's Scholarship Committee.

  Charles is the founder and CEO of Zhang Financial where his wife Lynn serves as chief operating officer and chief compliance officer. Their work as among the nation's top independent wealth advisors has been recognized in Barron's and Forbes magazines.

  The couple graduated from Western Michigan University, where they have contributed to the Haworth College of Business, Miller Auditorium, the Department of Economics, the Academically Talented Youth Program in the Office of Precollege Programming, the Medallion Scholarship Program, the Zhang Financial Room in Heritage Hall, among many other collegiate philanthropic endeavors. Both have served WMU through the WMU Foundation and professorship.

  Forbes names Charles Zhang the No. 6 ranked advisor on the list of America's Top Wealth Advisors, and he is the highest ranked fee-only, National Association of Personal Financial Advisors-registered financial advisor on that list. Lynn was named a finalist for the Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2020 Invest in Others Awards.

  Learn more about the Zhangs at: https://www.zhangfinancial.com/giving-back/.

• Hal B. Jenson Founding Dean's Scholarship

  

  The Dean's Scholarship was founded in honor of Hal B. Jenson, MD, MBA, the founding dean of WMed. The endowment fund was initiated with a gift from Dr. Jenson who served as the founding dean throughout WMed's first decade from March 2011 to May 2021 establishing an institution of higher learning that offers the full continuum of undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education. He provided outstanding leadership in development and support of the medical school's guiding principles – the mission, vision, values, values in action, and six strategies. During his tenure, he created an engaged medical school community of learners, faculty, and staff that has achieved tremendous success during its first decade as evidenced by consistently high match rates and USMLE scores, residency and fellowship program growth, advancement of knowledge through faculty scholarly activity, and recognition of excellence by accrediting agencies. Founding Dean Jenson demonstrated relentless commitment, tireless effort, as well as loyalty, and extraordinary dedication to medical school students, residents, fellows, faculty, staff, donors, alumni, patients and families. Watch a video in celebration of our Founding Dean.

• Havirmill Foundation Endowed Scholarship

  

  The Miller family established the Havirmill Endowed Scholarship (formerly the Miller Family Scholarship Fund) in 2018 with a pledge of $250,000 to WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. The fund provides scholarships to students from southwest Michigan who attend WMed, with preference given to Kalamazoo Promise students graduating from Kalamazoo Public Schools who are from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine.

  The scholarship fund was made possible by the generosity of Ken and Julie Miller and Jerry and Susan Miller, as well as other community donors. It initially was named after the Millers' parents, Harold and Virginia Miller.

  "They were beautiful, simple people who believed to their very core in education because they didn't have the opportunity for it, but they believed in it for us," Ken Miller said.

  

  The Millers have been stalwart supporters of the medical school since 2013, the year Western Michigan University President Emeritus John M. Dunn unveiled his vision of what would become WMed. Miller, who is a member emeritus of the WMU Board of Trustees, a WMU alumnus, and CEO of the Millennium Restaurant Group, played a direct role in bringing the medical school to life as he chaired the search committee in 2007, that chose Dr. Dunn as WMU’s eighth president.

  “There will be a point in time, actually we are at that point in time, when an individual out there today will progress, step by step, through early elementary, through high school, will go on because of The Kalamazoo Promise to college, will go from college to WMed because of scholarships and never pay a dime of tuition,” Miller added.

• James R. Ryan Family Foundation Scholarship

  

  The James R. Ryan Family Foundation Scholarship is awarded annually to the top-ranked rising third-year student at the conclusion of Foundations of Medicine, and the top-ranked rising fourth-year student at the conclusion of third-year clerkships. An individual student may receive this scholarship more than once. All rising third and fourth-year students are considered. No application is required.

• John M. Dunn Endowed Scholarship

  

  WMed is a monument to the vision of Western Michigan University President John M. Dunn.

  In October of 2007, President Dunn proposed to build a medical school that would serve the people of southwestern Michigan. The consequent outpouring of support and enthusiasm at the University and throughout the region affirmed his idea, and work began in earnest to transform his idea into a bricks-and-mortar reality. To shepherd the process, President Dunn served as the Founding Chair of WMed's Board of Directors.

  Because of his vision and leadership, the generous philanthropy of key community leaders and the support of the entire Kalamazoo community, 10 years later the first class of medical students graduated. The curriculum, built upon self-directed, peer-supported, and experiential inquiry, is both innovative and learner-centered. Not only does it promote excellence in medical education, clinical care, and research, it supports the desire of our students to serve humanity.

  Through the support from our healthcare partners, as well as members of the WMU Board of Trustees, and others in the community, an endowed scholarship fund in President Dunn's name was established to celebrate these achievements and honor President Dunn. This endowment lives in perpetuity and is used to provide for educational expenses for graduates of WMU who become WMed students.

  Please consider helping qualifying WMU graduates by contributing to the John M. Dunn Scholarship.

• Jon Stryker Slovadon Ranjelovic Scholarship

  

  The Jon Stryker Slovadon Ranjelovic Scholarship was established to provide financial assistance to students underrepresented in medicine to widen the diversity of the student body at the medical school.

  Jon Stryker is the grandson of Homer Stryker MD. His partner, Slovadon, is an architect, designer, and photographer.

  "We believe this gift will provide a stream of resources that will allow WMed to immediately increase the number of underrepresented students in medicine that (WMed) can serve," said Jon Stryker. "We hope it will also play a special role in increasing the number of medical doctors of color all across America."

  The first $1 million of the $5 million gift received in 2021 was used to provide scholarships to the students in the Hal B. Jenson MD Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MBS) degree program. The MBS program serves students exploring careers in health sciences and prepares them for admission to medical school. The endowed scholarship program provides enhanced access and opportunity for students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine to receive full scholarship support to earn their degree at WMed.

  Learn more about the Hal B. Jenson MD Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences degree program at https://wmed.edu/ms-biomedical-sciences.

• Marisa Nicole Lockett-Davis Scholarship

  Marisa Nicole Lockett-Davis dreamed of becoming a doctor. Before her dreams could be realized, this young Kalamazoo Central High School student succumbed to cancer. In her honor, Marisa's mother established a memorial fund at WMed.

  Melanie Lockett, Marisa's mother, wrote: "At a very young age Marisa would watch "The Baby Story" on TLC and was intrigued by the doctors that worked with newborn babies and their mothers. I believe that this is when her dream to become a neonatologist was realized. After Marisa lost her three-month battle with leukemia I was in search of meaningful ways to honor her fight and her legacy. I felt this was the perfect way to honor her life, her dreams, her fight and desire to become a doctor by establishing an endowment fund in her honor. I believe it is important for others to contribute by helping to provide financial assistance for students who are in pursuit of their goals and dreams in the field of medicine."

• Pauline Jenson Memorial Scholarship Fund

  

  Pauline "Polly" Jenson was a was a strong and consistent voice supporting WMed. She was married to Hal B. Jenson, MD, Founding Dean of the medical school. Before moving to Kalamazoo in 2011 they had lived in San Antonio, Texas; Norfolk, Virginia; and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Polly was born to Casey and Kitty Golightly in El Paso, Texas on September 13, 1954. She grew up and attended schools in San Antonio and graduated from Jefferson High School, and was employed by USAA in San Antonio and Norfolk. She attended Brigham Young University and graduated with a BA degree in Recreational Education. Polly died unexpectedly on October 28, 2017.

  Polly's passion was service to others, especially youth. She was continuously engaged in church and community activities including serving as a volunteer teacher for high school students while in San Antonio, East Longmeadow, and Kalamazoo. She served on the Board of Directors of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

  Polly was known for her contagious laugh, love of life, and service to others. She treasured the uniqueness and potential of each individual, and was deeply committed to improving the lives of youth. Polly sought to support each of us in our individual life journey by ensuring that each felt love from compassionate service, and each recognized our intrinsic and infinite worth.

  The Pauline Jenson Memorial Scholarship Fund was established by her many friends and family to continue her legacy by providing opportunities to our youth to excel and reach their individual greatness. The fund supports scholarships for eligible medical students at WMed who graduated from Brigham Young University.

  Additional contributions to the Pauline Jenson Memorial Scholarship Fund are welcome.

• Peter H. Capelli Scholarship

  

  The Peter H. Capelli Endowed Scholarship provides tuition assistance to medical students. The scholarship is awarded annually to one student in any year of study based on academic excellence and financial need. Recipients may receive the award more than once based on continued academic excellence and financial need. No application is required.

  Peter (Pete) Capelli spent seven years in the U.S. Navy after graduating from the North Hunterdon Regional High School in Annandale, N.J.  He was a 1965 alumnus of Western Michigan University where he became a founding brother of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.  Pete retired from The Upjohn Company in 1992 where he was employed for over 25 years.  

  He and his wife, Amy, raised three sons near Buffalo, N.Y., one of whom is currently a pediatrician in Wisconsin.

  "Peter would be delighted with the state-of-the art school of medicine established in downtown Kalamazoo. This fund honors my husband, who loved Western Michigan University and deeply respected the medical field in his life's work." ~ Mrs. Amy Ann (Miller) Capelli

Learn about the impact of philanthropy in advancing the mission of the medical school. Every dollar donated expands the educational opportunities for our students.
 

Donations may be made using any of the following methods:

• Check
• Credit card donation
• ACH checking account donation
• Donor advised fund
• Gift of appreciated securities
• A rollover IRA
• WMed Payroll Deduction Program

For more information about endowed programs and scholarships, please contact the philanthropy team by email.

WMed is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.