Cancer-Fighting Couple Makes $5 Million Gift To University of Florida Cancer Program
GAINESVILLE—A Jacksonville couple, both cancer survivors, has donated $5 million to the University of Florida College of Medicine’s cancer research program — a gift expected to speed the development of improved methods of cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
The donation by Jerry and Judith Davis, announced today (3/25) by UF medical Dean Kenneth Berns, is the largest single gift ever made to the College of Medicine. The Davis gift will be matched by the state to create a total endowment of $10 million.
The gift will help strengthen cancer research and clinical programs in UF’s colleges of Dentistry, Health Professions, Nursing, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine, as well as Shands HealthCare.
The interest earned on the endowment will be used to recruit world-class scientists and expand cutting-edge cancer research programs the college could not otherwise afford.
“The impact of research activities spawned by the Davis Endowment for Cancer Research should pave the way for UF to achieve status as a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. This is a prestigious federal designation that would raise the level of peer-review funded research at the University of Florida,” Berns said.
Berns said the existing building for the UF Shands Cancer Center, the outpatient-care component of the universitywide UF Cancer Center, will be named the Judith S. and Jerry W. Davis Cancer Center in recognition of the couple’s milestone gift.
Jerry Davis, a 1968 graduate of UF’s College of Journalism and Communication, is the co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Computer Management Sciences, Inc., a Jacksonville-based information consulting firm. The publicly-held company recently was dubbed one of the top “hot-growth” small companies in the nation by several business publications.
The Davises, who have two grown sons, each survived bouts with cancer over the past decade. Judith Davis was treated for breast cancer in 1988, and Jerry battled stomach cancer in 1990. They say those experiences greatly influenced their decision to support the UF Cancer Center.
“Judy and I are both fortunate to be survivors of cancer. We wanted to do anything we could to help other cancer patients. I think the best way we could do that was to help bring a comprehensive cancer center to the University of Florida,” Jerry Davis said.
The UF Cancer Center brings together more than 200 basic scientists and physicians for collaborative cancer research. Cancer detection and treatment programs at the UF Health Science Center’s Gainesville and Jacksonville campuses include: breast cancer research, bone marrow transplantation, risk factors for malignancies in HIV-infected children, gene therapy protocols and melanoma studies.
With the state match included, the Davises’ gift is one of three $10 million-plus gifts so far in UF’s five-year, $500 million fund-raising effort. The gift pushes the “It’s Performance That Counts” capital campaign over the $320 million mark in contributions. The campaign concludes Dec. 31, 2000.