Brody family gives $8 million to the School of Medicine
This article describes ECU's gratitude and acceptance of the gift of 8 million dollars donated by the Brody family. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is: Huston, Jeannine, "Brody Family Gives $8 Million to the School of Medicine," UHS People, Volume 8, No. 10, December 2000/January 2001.
School renamed to honor family
The Brody family of eastern North Carolina has given the East Carolina University School of Medicine $8 million to support research projects and medical initiatives related to the medical school's service to the region. The gift through The Medical Foundation of ECU was announced Dec. 7 during a press conference in the Brody Medical Sciences Building. It is the largest single gift in the history of the university and brings the cumulative total of Brody family contributions to more than $22 million since the earliest attempts in the 1960's to establish a medical school at ECU.
Also announced was the decision by the ECU board of trustees to name the medical school The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in honor of the Brody's years of support. The trustees made the decision in an unanimous vote during a conference call that morning.It is the first school at ECU to be named for a family or individual.
An E-mail inviting faculty and staff to learn of a "development of major importance" drew more than 300 people to Room 2W-40 where the announcement was made.
As Chancellor Richard Eakin announced the $8 million gift, a few gasps were followed by a round of applause. Eakin called the news "an extroardinary day in the life of East Carolina University and the School of Medicine."
Another round of applause followed the chancellor's announcement of the board of trustees decision to rename the medical school in honor of the family.
"We are honored to have the School of Medicine bear the name of the Brody family.It is a most fitting symbol of the long-standing relationship between the school and the Brody's," Eakin said.
Members of the Brody family attending the press conference included Morris and Lorraine Brody, Leo Brody, David and Laura Brody, Hyman and Stacy Brody, and Myrtilla Brody, widow of J.S. "Sammy" Brody, and Harvey Wooten, daughter of J.S. and Myrtilla.
The $8 million gift consists of $7 million from the Brody Brothers Foundation and $1 million from Morris and Lorraine Brody of Greenville.Announcement of the gifts was made by Hyman J. Brody of Greenville and David S. Brody of Kinston, co-administratorsof the Brody Brothers Foundation.
"With the support of the Brody family in the past, the East Carolina University School of Medicine has become one of the premier young medical schools in the country," said Phil Dixon, chairman of the ECU board of trustees.
Dixon called cousins David and Hyman Brody to the podium and presented them with a framed resolution adopted by the trustees renaming the medical school.The resolution recognized the Brody family's extraordinary generosity to higher education, to East Carolina University, and to the people of eastern North Carolina."
David and Hyman Brody, told the group how honored the Brody family was by the trustees' decision to recognize the family's years of support with the renaming of the school.
David Brody joked at the podium that it was "a little unnerving" to enter a room with so many people. "We never envisioned what has happened today. But we remember my Uncle Sammy and his contributions over the years, and thank you for this honor," he said.
Hyman Brody spoke of how his uncles, Leo and J.S. "Sammy" Brody, gave Dr. Leo Jenkins seed money to travel across North Carolina lobbying legislators to bring a medical school to ECU.
"Through the years, the family has made numerous gifts to help the School of Medicine grow. No one from our family went to ECU, but we felt this is a way to give back to eastern North Carolina," he said.
He added, "As (ECU sports commentator) Jeff Charles says at the end of winning games, 'You can paint this one purple,' which brought another round of applause from the medical school faculty and staff.
The Brody family has had many business interests over the years in North and South Carolina, most notably the line of Brody's retail clothing stores, which was sold to the Profitt's chain in 1997. The family also has been involved in soft drink bottling, real estate development and other ventures.
Before the gift was announced, Hyman Brody reflected on his family's support of ECU."When ECU needed support, Leo, Sammy and the rest of our family have always tried to step up to the plate," he said. "We feel that our family and the medical school share the same vision in reaching out and helping the people of eastern North Carolina."
He added that over the past 20 years, the medical school has brought significant social and economic benefits to the region."The Brody family felt it was time to help the medical school take the next step by funding these areas of research, which open up a new realm of possibilities in treating many chronic diseases and hopefully may lead to a cure," Hyman Brody said.
Before the gift was announced, David Brody said: "Our family foundation has many oppurtunities to give to various causes.However, we believe the mission of the School of Medicine matches what we want to accomplish, that being to improve the health status of the people of eastern North Carolina. We are hopeful this gift will inspire others to join us in helping the medical school develop their resources for research into the key health problems of our region."
The funds will be placed in a permanent endowment, meaning the principal will be invested and the interest will be used to fund projects.
The Brody Brothers Foundation gift of $7 million will fund research projects at the medical school for cancer, diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular disease and other prevalent health problems in eastern North Carolina.Also, the endowment will aid the medical school's initiatives in new technology, telemedicine, research and education.
The $1 million gift by Morris and Lorraine Brody has been designated to fund merit scholarships at the School of Medicine. The donation, which will help fund the existing J.S. "Sammy" Brody Medical Scholars Program, is the first lead gift in The Campaign for East Carolina Scholars, a university-wide scholarship program.
The Brody Scholars Program, since its establishment in 1983, has assisted a total of 79 medical students. The program provides recipiants financial assistance while they complete their medical degrees at ECU.The scholarship program was created to recruit medical students with outstanding academic records who have plans to practice medicine in eastern North Carolina after completing their residency training.
The Medical Foundation of ECU will receive the donation and manage the permanent endowment. A five-member stewardship committeee appointed by the Brody Brothers Foundation and the Medical Foundation of ECU will oversee the disbursement of the funds.
Dr. James A. Hallock, vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the medical school, said he is pleased that the donation will allow the medical school to continue research in areas important to eastern North Carolina and will support scholarships for deserving students.
During the press conference, Hallock told the group of how for the first time a student had received comparable full-scholarship packages from both ECU and UNC.Hallock said the scholarship money the Brody family donated will allow ECU to continue to attract the brightest medical school candidates.
"Will this gift make a difference? Yes," he said."It will provide more research for cancer, telemedicine, and fund a research endowment, so we can discover the next telemedicine.This gift will move our institution to the next level."
Looking over to the Brody family, Hallock added, "We pledge to you to use this gift to take us to the next level, but without your support we wouldn't be where we are today."
Terry R. Carter, vice president and executive director of The Medical Foundation of ECU, which serves the ECU division of Health Sciences, said: "The Brodys' generous leadership gift will create a new permanent endowment fund benefiting the School of Medicine, thereby greatly enhancing its mission and vision, now and well into the new millenium.Private gifts make all the difference in enabling us to achieve excellence, and we are most grateful for the Brodys' ongoing confidence in us to be good sterwards of their extraordinary support."
A History of Giving
The Brody family has been a longtime supporter of the East Carolina University School of Medicine. Below are the philanthropic highlights of that relationship.- Mid-1960s: Dr. Leo Jenkins, then chancellor of East Carolina University, visits with Brody brothers J.S. "Sammy," Morris and Leo to discuss the need to create a medical school at East Carolina University. Later, the Brody family contributed $200,000 to support Jenkins' barnstorming campaign around the state promoting the establishment of a medical school at ECU.
- 1979: The Brody Brothers Foundation provides a $1.5 million gift as part of matching funds required to build a permanent facility for the medical school. Leo Brody of Kinston served on the Chancellor's Advisory Committee for the medical school. The Brody Medical Sciences Building was officially dedicated on October 29, 1982.
- 1983: The family begins the Brody Scholars Program, which annually provides merit awards for students who demonstrate outstanding academic performance and leadership skills. An $8.6 million endowment, given in installments through the Medical Foundation, establishes the on-going scholarship program that has produced 79 Brody Scholars and Fellows.
- January 1996: The Brody family presents ECU with a gift of $1.5 million for the scholarship fund. This gift honored J.S. "Sammy" Brody, a long-time supporter of the school who died in 1994.
- July 1999: The family requests the name of the scholarship program be changed to the J.S. "Sammy" Brody Medical Scholars Program. Since the establishment of the medical school, the Brody Brothers Foundation has contributed approximately $2.5 million for scholarship support, in addition to the Brody Medical Scholars Program.
- Dec. 7, 1999: The Brody family donates $7 million through the Medical Foundation of ECU to support research in diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and the use of technology in treating chronic disease. Morris and Lorraine Brody give an additional $1 million to fund merit scholarships at the School of Medicine. This separate donation will help fund the J.S. "Sammy" Brody Medical Scholars Program and is the first lead gift in the Campaign for East Carolina Scholars for the university. This $8 million gift -- the largest single gift in the university's history -- brings the Brody family's cumulative support of the medical school to more than $22 million. ECU honors the family by naming the medical school The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.
