Magazine - Eastern Virginia Medical School

Burroughs made a mark on EVMS, regionCharles F. Burroughs was a keenbusinessman whose devotion to hiscommunity helped bring Eastern VirginiaMedical School from ambition to reality.“Charles Burroughs embodied thosecharacteristics that one would treasure in aclose friend. Integrity and reliability, ofcourse, but Charlie was also a pleasant andcheerful person who was fun to be withwhether things were going well or not,” saidToy Savage Jr., a Norfolk attorney andlongtime friend of Burroughs’.Burroughs played an instrumental role inbuilding early support for the medical school,and once EVMS opened its doors, heremained a guiding influence at what grewinto one of Hampton Roads’ most crucialassets. But his dedication didn’t end there.Burroughs, who passed away last fall, lefta $1.4 million estate gift to the school. Thisgenerous donation honors his commitmentto EVMS and ensures his legacy as one of thevisionaries who realized long ago theimportance of having a robust academicmedical center in the region.Burroughs brought steady leadership tothe roles he filled at EVMS, including histime as rector of the EVMS governing bodyand as interim president. He laid thegroundwork for his bequest 20 years beforehe died. He penned a handwritten note in1987 saying he planned to give at least$250,000, but that sum more than quintupledin subsequent years. He wrote that he did notknow what the school might need money for,so he did not designate a purpose for thefunds. Today, that means his legacy cantouch every corner of campus and benefitschool priorities that could not have beenenvisioned two decades ago.In recognition of his gift and his decadeslongcommitment to the school, therenovated Board of Visitors meeting room inFairfax Hall was renamed the Charles F.Burroughs Board Room.“Charlie Burroughs left an indelible markon this region, and EVMS in particular has alot to thank him for,” says EVMS PresidentHarry T. Lester. “He was one of the mostimportant philanthropists in Hampton Roadsand a pillar in the community. He wasa generous, wonderful person — a reallygreat guy.”recent graduates becomeNew DonorsElizabeth Illig thinks of it as the equivalentof forgoing a dinner out. The $35 she couldspend on a meal in a nice restaurant goesinstead to the school that trained her tobe an art therapist and set her off on apromising career.Though she received her degree last Mayand is just starting out, she has joined the corpsof donors to Eastern Virginia Medical Schoolbecause she views it as critical to give back tothe institution that laid the groundwork forher future.Painful? Not really, she says.“The $35 I give is nothing huge, but I knowit helps,” Illig says. “All donations areimportant, and it helps me continue to feelconnected to EVMS and the art therapyprogram. I want to feel that connection tosomething larger than myself.”Becoming a donor right out of schoolalso gets her into a constructive routine thathelps build the bright future envisioned forher school.Many of today’s medical school graduatesface debts of more than $100,000 when theyleave school, and typically it is not untilabout five years later that they begin giving totheir alma mater.According to the 2007 Annual DevelopmentSurvey of the Association of AmericanMedical Colleges, the average yearlydonation by a medical school alumnus oralumna is $1,256.What Illig, who now practices in Austin,Texas, and a few other 2008 graduates ofEVMS are doing is not only helping to makea difference now; it’s creating a pattern fortheir own futures and setting an examplefor others.“EVMS is a different kind of medicalschool because it was founded on the visionof the Hampton Roads community, and itwas founded by the people of the community,”Alex Seamon, MD, says. He’s now aninternal medicine resident at the Universityof Florida’s hospital in Gainesville. “I believeall of us can do something to continue to fundit and make it better than we found it.Elizabeth Illig, MPAAlex Seamon, MD“Yes, I have student loans,” the Roanokenative says, “but I’m glad now just to bemaking money. And as long as I am, I’mmotivated to give back to EVMS — to givewhat I can.”Physician assistant Deanna Salyer of VirginiaBeach, a member of the emergency team at BonSecours, views her contribution as aninvestment in the training of future membersof the medical profession.“EVMS has done a lot for me,” she says,“and I think it’s important to support theprograms for the students who will comealong.” To donate to EVMS online, go towww.evms.edu/giving.34 WINTER 2009 WWW.EVMS.EDU PHILANTHROPY