View Annual Report - Jules Stein Eye Institute

Audrey and Jack Skirball continued
Mrs. Skirball was born in Alabama
in 1915 and during World War II
moved to California to join the
Signal Corps, the branch of the
United States Military responsible
for communications. She married
Mr. Skirball in 1952, and during
their 33-year marriage they were
actively involved in charitable
endeavors, most notably building
the Skirball Cultural Center, the
largest Jewish cultural institution in
the world today. Rabbi Uri D.
Herscher, founding president and
chief executive officer of the
Skirball Cultural Center and a
trustee of the Foundation, noted, “I
first met Jack and Audrey Skirball
in 1964. Throughout the years,
they made me aware of their
devotion to help cure eyesightrelated
diseases, and they had the
confidence that the Jules Stein
Eye Institute would develop the
expertise to do so.” The creation of
the Audrey and Jack Skirball
Ocular Inflammatory Disease
Fellowship will serve as a testament
to Mr. and Mrs. Skirball’s
lifetime of philanthropy and
dedication to fighting blindness.
14 Highlights | Philanthropy
Donors Support
Modernization of
Institute Website
Wendy and Theo Kolokotrones
and Randi and David Fett have
pledged generous gifts to support
an update of the Jules Stein
Eye Institute’s website. Institute
Director Bartly J. Mondino, MD,
noted that their contributions
would strengthen the goals to
modernize the site and expand
user functionalities for both online
visitors and Institute staff and
faculty. “I am grateful for the
dedication of Wendy and Theo
Koloktrones and Randi and David
Fett to advance our online capabilities.
A state-of-the-art website will
reflect the Institute’s position as
one of the world’s preeminent eye
research centers.”
Proposed changes include an
overhaul of multiple databases,
improved site navigation, decentralized
page editing, enhanced video
streaming, integration of social
media, text enlargement for the
visually impaired, non-English ver-
sions of the website, an Institute-
wide calendar, an interactive portal
for Institute alumni, and a robust
Intranet for staff and faculty use.
Also under consideration is the
development of smart-phone
applications that communicate with
the website.
The Kolokotrones family has been a
loyal supporter of the Institute since
1994. In 2004, they established a
chair to benefit a cataract surgeon
and scientist. Chair holder Kevin M.
Miller, MD, Kolokotrones Professor
of Clinical Ophthalmology and chief
of the Comprehensive Ophthalmology
Division, oversees the website
development team. “Wendy and
Theo Kolokotrones have supported
my work for years and have been
generous to the Institute in many
ways,” said Dr. Miller, who has been
the faculty director of the website
since its first design more than
15 years ago.
Dr. David Fett is an Institute
alumnus and clinical faculty mem-
ber. His wife Randi graduated from
UCLA in 1984 with a degree in
chemistry, and Dr. Fett has a long
history with UCLA, since his grand-
father graduated from the University
in 1932. Most recently, the
Fetts established a fellowship in
the Orbital and Ophthalmic Plastic
Surgery Division under the auspices
of Robert Alan Goldberg, MD.
According to Dr. Miller, the groundwork
for the website is currently
being laid, and the first order of
business will be to rebuild the
database—a fundamental element
for all aspects of the project.
Dr. Kevin M. Miller, Kolokotrones
Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, has
been the faculty director of the Institute’s
website since its first design more than
15 years ago.