Creating a Research Professorship Vincent W. Foglia Entrepreneur Vincent W. Foglia has a straightforward attitude about philanthropy: “I like doing it. I like the way it feels. I know I am helping humanity in a very direct way.” Foglia started Sage Products Inc. in 1971. The company, based in Cary, Illinois, produces interventional patient hygiene products used in hospitals. “We started the company from scratch, we have been successful, and now we want to give something back,” Foglia says. Since attracting and keeping good people has been key to Foglia’s business success, he applied that same principle to supporting research. His long association and respect for Dennis P. West, PhD, professor of dermatology and director of the Dermatopharmacology Program at the Feinberg School of Medicine, led the Foglia Family Foundation to fund the Vincent W. Foglia Family Research Professorship in dermatology. Dr. West is the first encumbent of this professorship. “Making money is not the objective,” Foglia says. “Doing some good and enjoying life is the goal. We run our business as a family, and we do the same in philanthropy. My wife, son, and daughter all share the same philosophy: It’s fun making money, but it’s more rewarding giving it away.”

Helping Future Physicians Freddie Peterson After receiving a BS degree from Northwestern University in 1933, Freddie Peterson matriculated at its medical school. Years later she recalled, “At that time, women were not exactly welcomed [into medical school] with open arms. The main reason I got in was on account of Marjorie Ward of the Montgomery Ward family. She had given Northwestern University Medical School a grant, with the stipulation that they take four women a year. I was one of the lucky four. Marjorie Ward has a summer place near [my home], and I am always tempted to knock on her door and say, ‘Thanks.’” Dr. Peterson (left) had a long, successful career as a plastic surgeon in Milwaukee. When she volunteered at a clinic in Jamaica, she treated a young girl named Valerie, whom she later adopted. Upon her death, Dr. Peterson left her estate to Valerie, and upon Valerie’s death (early 2005), the remaining monies created the Dr. Freddie N. Peterson Scholarship Fund, which helps support underrepresented minority female medical students at Northwestern. What a fitting legacy and a wonderful way for Dr. Peterson to say thanks.

Supporting Brain Tumor Research Laura Kofoid Laura Kofoid and her husband, David Ricci, of Chicago are active supporters of the Brain Tumor Research Fund at the Feinberg School. Ricci was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2000, so their philanthropic objective is, as Kofoid says, “Finding a cure for brain cancer.” The couple organized an event in their home that raised $155,000, which they recognize is “just a beginning” to support research that will ultimately help people with brain cancer. Of Jeffrey Razier, MD, director of neuro-oncology programs at the Feinberg School, who oversees the fund, Kofoid says, “He’s smart, compassionate, and always searching for a new idea or better way to help his patients.” When asked how they and their two young children are dealing with David’s illness, Laura replies, “Our goal is to handle our situation with grace, aplomb, and a sense of humor. We don’t drink from the cup of life—we gulp. In the past year, we have traveled to Yellowstone, Washington, Australia, a dude ranch in Wyoming, London, Copenhagen, and Disney World. Costa Rica and Alaska are on the itinerary. I told David that if his tumor doesn’t kill him, our travel schedule will. We live for today, because that’s all we have. That’s all anyone has.”