MEDIA CONTACT: Linda Holtz
561-297-0159, lholtz@fau.edu
FAU Foundation Board Chair and Friends Raise More than $500,000 for Medical Education
BOCA RATON, FL, (June 19, 2006) – Florida Atlantic University Foundation Board Chair Ira J. Gelb, M.D. and his wife June Gelb hosted a reception for more than 100 friends of the University in the Charles E. Schmidt Biomedical Science Center lobby. The couple held the event to honor all donors who have supported the June and Ira J. Gelb M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund for Medical Student Education. This endowment has been designed to provide financial assistance to eligible students enrolled in the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University on FAU’s Boca Raton campus. Close to $375,000 has been raised for this fund thanks to the generosity of the Gelbs and university friends. With a match from the State of Florida, the endowment will be valued at more than $500,000.
FAU President Frank T. Brogan ’81, Dr. Dwight W. Warren, vice dean for biomedical programs and chair of biomedical science, and Dr. Michael Friedland, professor of biomedical science and vice president of medical programs, were on hand to acknowledge the Gelbs for their generosity. .
“Our community is one of the fasting growing areas in the country. This growth has signaled a need for more expanded comprehensive medical services,” said Gelb. “FAU’s burgeoning medical education program has responded to this charge by creating a world class institution of learning. In my role as a physician, professor and as the university’s Foundation Board chair, I am committed to availing medical students with the best opportunities for a world class education. My wife June and I have successfully rallied the interest of our friends, who have helped us build this special endowment for a future generation of doctors.”
A board-certified cardiologist, with more than 55 years of clinical and academic experience, Gelb has focused his efforts on expanding medical education opportunities in the area since moving to South Florida in the mid-1990s. Earning his medical degree from NYU School of Medicine, Gelb is a professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, a program that he helped establish.
He has similar academic appointments at the Weill College of Medicine of Cornell University and The Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Gelb is a director of clinical programs for FAU’s medical students and is in charge of the patient simulator program at FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.
For more information about the June and Ira J. Gelb M.D. Endowed Scholarship Fund for Medical Student Education, contact Deborah J. Robinson, associate vice president of University Advancement, at 561-297-3015 or drobin1@fau.edu.
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