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The Wistar Gala
Presented at the Wistar Gala, the Wistar Award is a biennial award given to an individual who reflects the qualities of compassion, integrity, generosity, commitment, and vision that the Institute’s founding members demonstrated. The proceeds from the event benefit basic biomedical research at Wistar.
2009 Wistar Gala Honoree: Ira Brind
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| Wistar President and CEO Russel E. Kaufman, M.D.; Wistar Award honoree Ira Brind; and Gala Chair Adele K. Schaeffer. |
Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist Ira Brind was honored with The Wistar Award at The Wistar Gala, November 7 for his commitment to advancing biomedical research to benefit public health. More than 280 notable guests attended the black-tie Wistar Gala at The Rittenhouse, which raised over $150,000 in support of basic biomedical research at the Wistar Institute.
“Ira is a gifted businessman with great intellect and a generous heart,” said Russel E. Kaufman, President and CEO of The Wistar Institute. “We are proud to honor him with the 2009 Wistar Award for his strategic guidance and philanthropic support to advance potentially life-saving research at Wistar.”
President of Brind Investments, Inc., Brind has been a Wistar board member for more than 20 years. During this time, he served as treasurer from 1988 to 1994 and as chairman from 1994 to 1998. His active leadership during that decade enabled the Institute to pursue its scientific mission through faculty expansion, and many young recruits have matured into innovative and productive investigators who compromise Wistar’s world-class faculty today.
Adele K. Schaeffer of Bryn Mawr chaired the 2009 Wistar Gala Committee. Gala Committee vice chairs included: Marta and Robert Adelson, Lee and Ian Berg, Sean Buffington, Ellen and Ronald Caplan, Eleanor and Hal Davis, Penny and Bob Fox, Lynne and Harold Honickman, Jane and Russel Kaufman, M.D., Karen and Herb Lotman, Helen and David Pudlin, Caro and Bob Rock, and Harriet and Larry Weiss. Honorary committee members included: Gov. Edward G. Rendell, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), Rep. Robert A. Brady (D-PA), Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), ABC News Correspondent Sam Donaldson, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, and former NFL Super Bowl Champion Coach Dick Vermeil.
Past Wistar Award Honorees
Robert A. Fox
1994 Recipient
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Robert A. Fox was the first recipient of the Wistar Award. Since joining the Wistar Board of Trustees in 1974, Fox has played an active role in the Institute’s governance and financial stewardship, as secretary (1974-1982), chairman on the finance committee (1975-1984), and president (1984-1994). He initiated a long-range planning process and spearheaded the development of five-year plans for the Institute, beginning in 1988. Fox’s gifts make him the most generous supporter of the Institute since its founding in 1892.
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Doris Rousso Taxin
1999 Recipient
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Doris Taxin helped raise over two million dollars to establish The Wistar Institute's Albert R. Taxin Brain Tumor Research Center after her husband, Albert, died in 1993 of a brain tumor. She has been a member of The Wistar Institute's Board of Trustees since 1993 and Board secretary since 1994. Since its inception, the annual Albert R. Taxin Golf Classic has raised almost $1.5 million for brain tumor research at Wistar. |
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Kevin M. Tucker
2005 Recipient
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Kevin M. Tucker has been a member of the Wistar Board of Trustees since 1993. He chaired Wistar’s Board from 1998 until 2005. During his tenure as chair, Wistar recruited a new president, approved a new strategic plan that called for expansion of the Institute’s faculty and renewal of its facility, and made remarkable strides in fundraising and board development, among many other achievements. |
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Harold M. Davis
2007 Recipient
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Harold M. Davis has been a member of the Wistar Board of Trustees for more than 20 years. With his wife Eleanor, the Davises support breast cancer research at the Institute. The Davises’ interest in cancer research stems from personal experience. Harold lost a brother to cancer, and Eleanor survived breast cancer. "When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1979 at a young age and Hal became involved at Wistar, I thought it was a perfect opportunity for us to invest in basic biomedical research – to help find a cause, and eventually a cure,” said Eleanor. |
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