Growing Gains
To keep the momentum as a leader in the fight
against cancer, the USC/Norris Cancer Center is preparing to
build a new research tower-with a little help from its friends.
Jump-starting plans for the new translational research tower at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Kenneth T. & Eileen L. Norris Foundation has provided a $15 million grant toward its construction.
The building will be named for the head of the foundation, Harlyne Norris, widow of former USC Trustee Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. Mrs. Norris became a trustee of the university herself in February and also serves as a board member of the USC/Norris Cancer Hospital.
Ronald Barnes, executive director of the foundation, calls funding construction of the new research tower "a natural continuation" of the support the Norris family has provided to the university over the years.
Through its foundation, the Norris family has given more than $18 million to USC, naming the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Eileen L. Norris Cinema Theater, the Norris Dental Center, the Norris Medical Library and the Norris Auditorium. Kenneth T. Norris, Jr., was also instrumental in funding the Dr. Norman Topping Tower at the USC/Norris. In addition, following Ken Norris, Jr.'s death in 1996, the foundation named two endowed chairs in his honor, one in cancer prevention and one in medicine.
The Harlyne J. Norris Research Tower will accommodate new scientists and physicians and allow for the growth and consolidation of current promising research into a building solely dedicated to cancer research.
Barnes says the foundation needed little encouragement to provide the gift because the rewards of its past financial support have been so apparent.
"If there is one thing that tells me we are utilizing our assets properly in supporting the Norris, it is the telephone calls I receive from patients saying, 'This place has saved my life,'" Barnes says.
He says he was pleased to learn that the new grant will help grow the center's lab space to meet the increasing demands for new research.
Barnes says he is also pleased that the new tower will bear the name of Harlyne Norris, an ardent and longtime supporter of the USC/Norris.
"It's one more building where the Norris family can be proud of its association with the university," he says.
Mrs. Norris says that the Norris family and foundation's continuing support for the cancer center stems from "our belief in the "brilliance of its researchers and the great respect we have for [Director] Peter Jones."
She adds, "I'm proud to be associated with the center and just being part of the research is exciting. I feel very strongly that the recent breakthroughs in genetics are going to be responsible for finding cures for cancer."
During a gathering commemorating the gift, USC President Steven B. Sample praised Mrs. Norris as "a great benefactor and friend," whose generosity makes possible medical advancements that can change lives. He recounted receiving a letter from a Norris patient who described how treatments there permitted him to walk down the aisle on his daughter's wedding day.
"This kind of life-saving and life-enhancing work is going on all the time at the USC/Norris Cancer Center and Hospital," Sample says.
While the Norris family has supported numerous major projects at USC for decades, it was Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. who created a tradition of support for medical research at USC. He championed the creation of the USC/Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital-a project that might never have flourished without his direct intervention.
Back in the late 1960s, when USC first considered establishing a cancer center, it sounded like an easy project to sell to philanthropists, politicians and the public. Nowhere else in Southern California was cutting-edge research being combined with the best patient care and an opportunity to teach up-and-coming physicians. Quite a bit of research was already underway at the LAC+USC Medical Center, and a cancer center would be, it seemed, a natural evolution.
Natural, perhaps, but not easy. It ultimately took eight years to develop the center-years fraught with what the center's first director, G. Denman Hammond, M.D., calls "stumblings, uncertainties, obstructions, many disappointments and doubts."
At one point, L.A. County even put a bond measure on the ballot to fund such a center. The measure was approved by a majority of voters but narrowly missed passing with the 66 percent margin needed to ensure funding.
After the county officials began to waver in their support for the project, Norris Jr. committed personal funds to ensure it went forward successfully. Shortly after the National Cancer Institute awarded recognition to the cancer center, Kenneth Norris, Jr. committed to personally overseeing the construction by organizing and directing the contractors.
When ground was broken in 1979, Hammond was lavish in his praise of Norris Jr.: "He's come forward with not only unimaginable support, but also with a willingness to make himself and his senior staff available to direct the construction of the institute that will bear his name." When the center finally opened in April 1983, much of the credit belonged to Kenneth T. Norris, Jr.
After his death in 1996, his widow Harlyne Norris joined the USC/Norris Board of Directors, where she has maintained an active role ever since. Her presence on the board, says Barnes, allowed her to learn more about the research and clinical work done at the USC/Norris and its plans for future expansion.
"Harlyne has always had an interest in medicine and in the end it was her final recommendation to the Norris Foundation board that we approve the plans [for the Translational Research Tower]," Barnes says.
Peter Jones, Ph.D., director of the USC/Norris Cancer Center, praises Harlyne Norris as a driving force behind the growth and expansion of the center.
"She's very much involved on the Norris Hospital Board. She attends nearly every meeting, takes notes and asks penetrating questions, and that's very helpful in charting the course of the cancer center's future," he says.
"She fills a crucial role not only because of her extensive personal investment of time and energy, but also because her visibility underscores the long-term commitment of the Norris Foundation to the Cancer Center. That visibility also has a stimulatory effect on other donors who meet her and begin to share her enthusiasm and excitement," Jones adds.
William Corey, M.D. a lifelong friend and also personal physician to Norris Jr., has served as medical advisor and trustee to the Norris Foundation since 1983. As a result, his involvement in evaluating and advising the foundation on USC proposals for new research facilities has also been instrumental in bringing those projects to fruition.
Corey, a 1959 graduate of the USC School of Medicine, agrees that, considering the past support the Norris Foundation has provided for USC research, the new gift to fund the translational research tower "is a perfect fit.
"The foundation made a commitment to the Cancer Center in the beginning and the logical thing to do now is to ensure that something started by Kenny 20 years ago would continue to grow. The Comprehensive Cancer Center has done very well in achieving academic credibility and now it needs to increase its size, research staff and faculty to stay on the right path," Corey says.
He adds that the best part of being involved in the project has been "to see what it has grown into: a top medical center with a warm, caring atmosphere, where patients feel comfortable and like the treatment they receive. That's generally how people perceive the USC/Norris and that's another reason to feel good about our support of it."
Corey adds, "Harlyne is very conscious of the fact that the hospital and the tower carry the Norris name and she wants it to live up to its potential. I think it will."
RELATED STORY: Poised to Meet the Challenge
The faculty, staff and friends of the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center are working hard to speed the day that cancer is a disease of the past. Please join the journey by helping build the new Harlyne J. Norris Research Tower. With your help we can strive to make certain that cancer's containment is complete.
Gifts of Lifetime Income
With a Charitable Remainder Unitrust you benefit by receiving life income from your charitable gift, as well as tax savings. The trust fund then passes to the USC/Norris.
The federal government provides tax benefits when you support our institution through a unitrust. A donor's prime motive for creating a unitrust should be to further our institution's work and goals-not to save taxes. However, having decided to contribute, you will want to plan your gift for maximum tax and financial benefits. Creating a unitrust-keeping attractive income for life-can save substantially on estate taxes, capital gains taxes, income taxes and probate costs.
A Charitable Gift Annuity encourages support for schools, churches, hospitals, community foundations and other public charities. The federal government provides tax benefits to those who transfer money or securities in exchange for a charity's agreement to pay the donor (and a survivor beneficiary, if desired) a fixed income for life with no investment worries or responsibilities. You receive an attractive rate of return based on your age at the time of the gift and have the pleasure of making a meaningful charitable gift.
Memorial/Honor Gifts
An important way many people decide to donate money is in memory or honor of a special person. Gifts can be made in memory of a person that has passed on, in lieu of flowers. It is also possible to donate in the honor of a loved one surviving cancer, or a birthday, anniversary or any other special event that merits recognition.
The USC/Norris will send an acknowledgment card to the designated party or family members informing them that a gift has been made, giving you, as well as the USC/Norris, an opportunity to thank the donor.
Bequests and Wills
Your will allows you to name the person who will act as the executor to implement the wishes and directions stated in your will. An executor may be an individual or an institution, or a combination of both. A will is your customized estate plan and it should incorporate tax-saving arrangements.
Your will might include a charitable bequest for the USC/Norris to support research, a physician or equipment needs. Your bequest can establish an endowment in your name to pay income forever benefiting your interest. Or your bequest can be an unrestricted gift, allowing the USC/Norris to apply it to urgent needs that may exist when the gift is received.
Your legacy can be a dollar amount, a specific asset, or a percentage of the remainder estate. Your attorney can draft an appropriate bequest when you have a new will prepared, or a codicil may be added to your existing will.
Gifts of Cash
Major gifts are made by individuals, such as patients and their families, foundations, corporations and organizations to support research, equipment and other ongoing needs of the USC/Norris. Gifts can be given outright or in memory or honor of someone. These types of gifts can be pledged over a five-year period.
With their consent, major donors are recognized in annual reports, monthly newsletters, with naming opportunities at the USC/Norris and receive invitations to educational and unique events.
Endowed Chairs
The Endowed Chair program is a high priority at USC/Norris and a key focus of USC's fundraising campaign, "Building on Excellence." Since the start of the campaign in 1990, 11 new USC/Norris Endowed Chairs have been established.
Our priority is to use new Endowed Chairs as a means of recruiting and retaining distinguished physicians and scientists. The long-term financial security of an Endowed Chair enables a physician or scientist to pursue ideas that might seem risky, or to strike out on a cancer research course that is long and perhaps too difficult for one who must constantly seek peer-approved funding.
For further information contact the Office of Development at (323) 865-0700, Bill Watson, senior director of development, watson_b@ccnt.hsc.USC.edu, John Baker, johnb@ccnt.hsc.USC.edu, or Carmy Peters, bmartin@ccnt.hsc.USC.edu