Timing is EverythingIt’s said that timing is everything. For medical school alumnus, Michael Polacek, MD, it was great timing along with his long-time support of scholarships that started him down a road toward his recent gift to Northwestern University. Growing up on the south side of Chicago, Dr. Polacek’s love of science and biology led him to medicine. Coming from a self-described family of “modest means,” medical school was, unfortunately, not an easy choice. A scholarship from Northwestern University eased his decision, ultimately keeping Dr. Polacek in Chicago for his undergraduate and medical education, and instilling in him an appreciation for the importance of philanthropy.  Dr. Polacek has long been thankful for his decision. Not only does he feel that he received a well-rounded education at Northwestern University, but it was also during his time as an undergraduate student that he met his late wife, Jenny Polacek, née MacGregor.
The family’s longstanding relationship with the University began when Mrs. Polacek’s father, James W. MacGregor, MD, and her mother, Mabel Cooper MacGregor, graduated, respectively from the medical school and affiliated nursing program in 1922. Dr. and Mrs. Polacek strengthened their familial ties to Northwestern when they received their undergraduate degrees in 1954 and then Dr. Polacek graduated from the medical school in 1957. It was fifty years later, when standing just around the corner from his class reunion, that Dr. Polacek felt that the timing seemed right for this gift. A personable man, still in contact with many fellow classmates, Dr. Polacek had been eagerly awaiting his reunion. With a laugh behind his words, he said that he was “looking forward to seeing some people, all of course looking older than me.” A conversation with his accountant about another matter of timing clinched Dr. Polacek’s decision. His accountant advised him of the IRA (individual retirement account) provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. This fleeting provision, available only until the end of 2007, allows for philanthropic individuals, 70 ½ years of age or older, to make outright gifts of up to $100,000 from their IRA and exclude the amount of the gift from their gross income. In April 2007, with everything in place, Dr. Polacek created a named scholarship fund at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine to help Chicago-area students obtain their medical doctorates from the University. When asked about his gift, Dr. Polacek recalled his own scholarship, saying that his hope was for the gift to make the cost of a quality medical education “less of a burden for another needy student.” Established with one initial gift, the fund will receive additional monies in the future. With further contributions, the fund can one day be endowed, allowing it to generate income in support of scholarships in perpetuity. Dr. Polacek’s decision to take advantage of the timely IRA provision ultimately drove his class’s total giving to surpass its cumulative goal of $1 million. Right before their 50th reunion celebration, the timing couldn’t have been better. | 
