MEDIA CONTACT: Alan K. Cubbage at 847-491-4886 or at a-cubbage@northwestern.edu

February 13, 2002

Feinberg Gifts Total $103 Million; Medical School Gets New Name

CHICAGO --- Northwestern University has received gifts totaling more than $103 million from the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, a Chicago philanthropic organization, including a new gift of $75 million. Northwestern will name its medical school the Feinberg School of Medicine, University officials announced today.

Northwestern will name the school in honor of the Feinberg Foundation, which was created by four brothers: Bernard, Louis, Reuben and Samuel Feinberg. The foundation’s president, Reuben Feinberg, is a leader in Chicago-area real estate, banking and philanthropy arenas. Northwestern’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the new name at a board meeting Saturday.

The $75 million gift is the largest single donation to a Chicago-area university, according to a list of major gifts compiled by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The funds will be designated for the medical school’s endowment and will be used to help support teaching and research.

Northwestern University President Henry S. Bienen said, "The Foundation and Reuben Feinberg have been loyal and generous supporters of Northwestern University and its medical school for more than a decade. The University is extremely pleased to receive this magnificent donation and extends its appreciation to Mr. Feinberg and the Feinberg Foundation."

The foundation has been a major contributor to Northwestern, donating more than $28.5 million in recent years to create the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute, the Louis Feinberg M.D. Chair in Ophthalmology and the Frances Evelyn Feinberg Clinical Neurosciences Institute.

"These monumental gifts will help transform medical education and research at Northwestern," said Dr. Lewis Landsberg, dean of the medical school and University vice president for medical affairs. "Both the teaching and research missions of the medical school will be enhanced significantly as the result of these generous gifts from the Feinberg Foundation."

Reuben Feinberg is the former president of the Jefferson State Bank in Chicago and presently vice chairman of the board of Parkway Bank and Trust, Harwood Heights. He has been president of the Feinberg Foundation since its inception in 1969. In 1996 he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Northwestern.

Established in 1969 and solely supported by the four Feinberg brothers, the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation was created to honor the memory of their parents through contributions to religious, charitable and educational activities. The family, involved in real estate development in and near Chicago’s Loop, was a pioneer developer of the West Loop as well as other shopping centers and office buildings.

"I am very pleased to make this gift to Northwestern and the medical school," said Reuben Feinberg. "The work done by the medical school in research and teaching is critically important to the future of health care, both in the Chicago area and nationally. I know that my brothers who helped create the foundation would be honored, as I am, to have our name associated with the Northwestern University Medical School."

Mr. Feinberg’s initial interest in medical philanthropy began in 1987 when he was a patient at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and was treated by three doctors who are on the faculty of the medical school. A year later, through the Foundation, he made a $17 million gift to create the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute headed by Dr. Francis Klocke. Researchers affiliated with the institute are at the forefront of national efforts to treat and cure cardiovascular disease.

In 1996, the Foundation made a $10 million gift to establish as part of the medical school the Frances Evelyn Feinberg Clinical Neurosciences Institute. The institute is under the leadership of Dr. John A. Kessler. Named for Mr. Feinberg’s late wife, the institute conducts research on the causes of strokes and related neurological disorders and helps develop interventional treatment to lessen brain damage caused by strokes.

In addition to the gifts to the medical school, the foundation also has been a major contributor to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, including a $15 million gift for the inpatient care facility that is the centerpiece of the hospital’s new medical center. The Feinberg Pavilion houses 492 private patient rooms, cutting-edge technology and equipment.

The gift from the Feinberg Foundation pushes the total amount raised in Campaign Northwestern to $1.28 billion. The campaign is a five-year, $1.4 billion comprehensive fundraising effort to support facilities, endowment and operational support at Northwestern University. The campaign ends on Aug. 31, 2003.

Northwestern’s medical school has approximately 1,200 full-time faculty members and 700 full-time students, along with approximately 900 residents and fellows. With a long tradition of excellence in education and patient care, the medical school also is nationally recognized for its research in such areas as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and AIDS.

Founded in 1851, Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university with an enrollment of approximately 7,500 full-time undergraduate students and approximately 7,000 full-time graduate and professional students on campuses in Evanston and Chicago.