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More than a Street Sign: Advocates for MedicineFrom Freeman and Bates... to Fulbright & Jaworskiby Erin Blair
In the 1940s, as trustees of the M. D. Anderson Foundation, Freeman and Bates were tasked with improving medical care in Houston. They envisioned a Texas Medical Center with a world-class medical school. In Dallas, trustees for Baylor University College of Medicine were contemplating a change. Conversations ensued and Freeman told Baylor trustee D. K. Martin, "I can't know whether you can move [the College] to Houston or not, and, of course, I am just one trustee, but you have mentioned something that appeals to me more as a trustee of the Anderson Foundation than anything else that has ever been presented to us." By May 1943, the Foundation had offered the College land, $1 million for a building, and $100,000 a year for 10 years for research. A gift from the widow of the law firm's founding partner established the College's first endowed fund, which grew to become the R. Clarence and Irene H. Fulbright Chair in Pathology. Leon Jaworski, the chief prosecutor of Nazi war criminals and Watergate special prosecutor, served as counsel to the College and in 1968 helped BCM achieve independent status by setting up a new non-profit corporation and recruiting prominent Houstonians to the board of directors. "Once you reach a critical mass of excellence, it attracts excellence," said Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, BCM chancellor emeritus, on assuming leadership of the College that year, as recounted in The Quest for Excellence. "Houston takes pride in anything really good. If we can show them our desire for excellence, they will support us. This community has a progressive spirit in the air. Even when it's hot, it's progressive." 
Leon Jaworski Jaworski was a Baylor College of Medicine trustee from 1969 to 1982 and, like his brother, Hannibal "Dr. Joe" Jaworski, M.D. '26, named the College as a beneficiary in his will. BCM's Jaworski Society honors the brothers and others who include the College in their estate plans. Another Fulbright & Jaworski partner and BCM trustee, J. Wiley Caldwell, took an active role in obtaining state funding for the education of medical students, which has almost doubled enrollment. Trustee emeritus Gibson Gayle Jr. became chairman of the board in 1982. A managing partner in Fulbright & Jaworski, Gayle worked closely with Dr. William T. Butler during a period of great growth at BCM. The Human Genome Sequencing Center and the Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Center on Aging were established during his tenure, as were the Ben Taub Research Center and the Vivian and Bob Smith Research Building. Under the leadership of BCM trustee A.T. "Gus" Blackshear, Jr., the law firm established the Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Faculty Excellence Fund in 1998. It annually honors faculty for education excellence. Most recently, Fulbright & Jaworski attorneys on the BCM board, including Richard Carrell and W. Fred Cameron, facilitated a gift to the DeBakey Library & Museum, in recognition of the firm's and the College's long intertwined history. "We are so fortunate to have the support of generous partners like Fulbright & Jaworski," said Dr. Peter G. Traber, BCM president. "The firm's continuous dedication over the years to BCM ensures our unceasing success in medical education, patient care, and research advancement." |
Patient CareHealthy Living for a Thousand, Alex ResearchFighting Obesity one Molecule at a Time Doctors are from Jupiter, Patients are from Saturn EducationA Lot's Changed in 40 Years... Sort Of Community ServiceAlumni & DevelopmentBuilding BCM and Biochemistry History Following Father's Bedside Manner More than a Street Sign: Advocates for Medicine College NewsAn Artist in the Medical Arena
Educating the Next Generation of Leaders
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Volume 2, Issue 3, Fall 2006 |
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| Last modified: October 10, 2008 |
Visitors to the Texas Medical Center recognize John H. Freeman and Col. William B. Bates as the names of two well-traveled arteries near Baylor College of Medicine. But before they were immortalized in street signage, these men were partners in what is now known as Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., the law firm has long served the world's largest medical complex. Sixty-three years later, the firm continues to shape the history of the College.