Why Give
ATSU Initiatives : Donor Stories : Make a Gift Now
Investing in Healthcare Today & Tomorrow
A pioneer of whole person healthcare, ATSU integrates wellness and prevention as key components of our curriculum and campus life. ATSU students become their own “first” patient through classroom instruction and the Still-Well program, our innovative hands-on health & wellness component. Through this unique “body, mind, spirit” focused approach, students learn how to be role models for their patients – real life examples of the timeless adage of “practice what you preach!”
Although a “wellness first” and “disease prevention” orientation is our educational foundation, the reality of a complex system – the human body – has a way of challenging this. People become sick or injured. Disease and illness do not discriminate. It touches every person’s life either directly or indirectly.
At ATSU, we are committed to training highly skilled, compassionate physicians and healthcare providers to treat those who are suffering with the highest level of care. Your gift to ATSU is an investment in healthcare today & tomorrow.
ATSU is a private, not for profit educational institution supported by individual gifts, fees, and tuition. Private support from ATSU alumni, friends, corporations and foundations is essential to ATSU’s success. Tuition only supplies approximately 62% of the University’s income, a fact that underscores the importance of private gifts.
Your gifts compliment ATSU’s efforts in its numerous initiatives to:
- improve students’ access to quality education
- recruit and retain motivated and dedicated students
- recruit and retain accomplished and recognized faculty
- establish and advance comprehensive medical and health education programs
- promote and conduct research in all disciplines of healthcare
- construct state-of-the-art facilities for education & support of students
- establish endowments in support of students, programs, and University operations
- provide financial awards to exemplary students
Regardless of whether you make an annual gift supporting the University’s immediate needs or a major gift supporting an endowment or capital project, your gift is an important investment in ATSU.
ATSU Initiatives
Connell Information Technologies Center : Thompson Campus Center Renovations : Still National Osteopathic Museum : Still Partners : Endowments : Faculty/Staff Campaign : Annual Fund Campaign
Connell Information Technologies Center
Students and faculty are reaping the many benefits of the Connell Information Technologies Center now fully operational on the Kirksville campus. This facility revolutionizes the way medical students are educated and maintains the University as a national leader in the training and development of competent and compassionate physicians. The Connell Center will support ATSU-KCOM students and staff by offering them the best computer technology available and by placing them in simulated real-world scenarios. Prominent features include: a new library, 100 table osteopathic skills lab, patient simulator center with six simulators, student study areas, and multimedia - telecommunications center. Construction began in July 2005 and was completed in late 2007. A lead gift of two million dollars from the estate of Ralph Connell, D.O. ’35, and wife Pet Connell, along with the very generous support of alumni, foundations, corporations, friends, and the Kirksville community made this facility a reality.
Thompson Campus Center Renovations
The overall philosophy of the ATSU Thompson Campus Center (TCC) is to provide an atmosphere of health and programs which will enable each individual to reach his/her maximum potential in mind, body, and spirit. Since its construction in 1982, the TCC facility and its staff have implemented this philosophy through a wide variety of programs and events. An ever increasing demand by students and staff for these services plus normal facility obsolescence has created a high priority need for improvements and renovations to the TCC. While specific details about these planned improvements are still being considered, supporters of KCOM and the TCC are encouraged to visit with our Development staff about opportunities to fund these future renovations.
Still National Osteopathic Museum
The Still National Osteopathic Museum relies on the support of members to maintain its mission and serve the community. By paying annual dues, members have the satisfaction of helping the Museum continue to grow as a unique source of osteopathic history. Membership is open to anyone interested in supporting the Museum’s mission.
Still Partners
In the Donor Stories section of this website, we share with you the stories of two of our Still Partners, two of our “Friends With Foresight.” As spouses of KCOM alumni, Marie Hayes and Virginia Rinefort remained faithful in their support of the University throughout their lives but also in their passing, leaving significant estate gifts; totaling $675,000. These two women held a special place in their hearts for KCOM and by their gifts will advance the mission of osteopathic education for years to come.
Still Partners is a nationwide linkage of spouses of deceased graduates and faculty with a common goal of advancing and promoting the mission of the University. Still Partners share a continuing interest in the future of osteopathic education. The organization is simply an informal network providing members with current information concerning A.T. Still University.
If you would like to learn more about the Still Partners program, please contact Jodie Spry at 1.866.626.2878, ext. 2180.
Endowments
Imperative to the growth of A.T. Still University and its Colleges, endowed funds provide for the advancement and growth of our operations and educational programs in perpetuity. Endowments designated for the advancement of research, development of academic programs, faculty support, facilities, student recruitment/support and general operations, are the University’s highest priority needs.
The prudent investment policy of the University provides that 20% of all annual endowment fund earnings be returned to the corpus; thereby providing income for continued growth. The remaining 80% of the annual income from the investment is used for the purpose specified by the donor(s) who created the endowment.
Endowed chairs
Endowed chairs may be created to honor distinguished professors or to provide future financial resources directed toward total program support for education and research.
Presidential Chair $3,000,000 Dean's Chair $2,000,000 Chair $1,000,000 Endowed Professorships
Endowed professorships may be created to provide financial support for faculty salaries, research, or other program support related to the professorship.
- $500,000 or more
General Endowment Funds – Restricted & Unrestricted
General endowments may be created to provide financial support for the University’s and/or specific school’s operational needs, specific programs, or to provide financial awards for ATSU students.
Presidential Scholarship $1,000,000 Other Named Scholarship $ 20,000 Endowed Scholarship $1,000,000 Named Endowed Funds $ 10,000
Creating an endowment is an outstanding way to support the University, and, to honor an individual or family member.
Faculty & Staff Campaign - It's our ATSU!
Giving back to ATSU is an opportunity to invest in the University community and to underscore the significance of the important work we do. We educate and provide support for tomorrow’s 
physiciansand healthcare leaders who will impact the lives
of patients worldwide. As faculty and staff, we are afforded
the opportunity to make a difference not only for our local community,
but also for all communities nationwide.
Faculty and staff annual contributions help fund a variety of programs
and initiatives, which benefit all of
our constituents. We play an 
essential
role in the University’s
success stories and we shape the institution’s
future through personal gifts. Faculty
and staff gifts support ATSU’s growth to preeminence in education,
research, and outreach in extraordinary ways.
Please help build a legacy of teaching and learning, and please join
your colleagues by making your gift today. To participate
in the campaign, you may choose to make a campaign
donation online or contribute via payroll deduction 
.
Annual Fund Campaign
Whether you’re an alumnus of KCOM, SHM, ASHS, or ASDOH, it’s your ATSU! Giving back to ATSU is an opportunity to invest in your alma mater, your profession, your mentors, and your future colleagues. Your gift to the annual fund underscores the significance of the important work you do as a physician or healthcare professional.
ATSU is a private, not-for-profit educational institution that is supported by individual gifts, fees, and tuition. Did you know student tuition only provides for 62 percent of the University’s income and that the remaining amount comes from much-needed annual fund gifts, endowment income, grants, and bequests?
How is my annual fund gift utilized?
The decision belongs to you, the donor. You may elect to provide an unrestricted gift for ATSU or any one of its four schools, or you may elect to make a restricted gift for a specific school or priority.
Your gift to ATSU’s annual fund helps fund a variety of programs and initiatives, which benefit all of our constituents. You play an essential role in the University’s success stories and you shape the institution’s future through personal gifts. Annual fund gifts support ATSU’s growth to preeminence in education, research, and outreach in extraordinary ways.
Please help build a legacy of teaching and learning, and please join your osteopathic colleagues by making your annual fund gift today. For additional information pertaining to our annual fund program, please contact ATSU Development.
Donor Stories
Still Partners – Friends with Foresight
 |
MARIE HAYES |
The old saying, “You can’t take it with you,” is only partially true. In fact, you can take something with you … and that is the satisfaction of knowing that you left your possessions behind where they would do the most good. For most people, this includes thoughtful provision for a spouse and children. For our alumni and friends, it often includes charitable bequests to A.T. Still University (ATSU).
Every year we receive probate notices from the estates of those who made arrangements to benefit the University. Sometimes it is a bequest for general-use purposes. And at other times the gift is designated for a special purpose, such as a family’s own endowment fund. Whatever the bequest, these notices represent donors who made the decision to take with them the satisfaction of leaving a worthwhile gift.
Additionally, these probate notices often indicate that our donors may have also carried with them the thought that their bequest served as an example of generosity for their fellow alumni. Such is the case for ATSU-KCOM (Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine) Still Partners Marie Hayes and Virginia Rinefort. Still Partners is an informal network of spouses of deceased graduates and faculty working together to advance and promote the mission of the University. As spouses of KCOM alumni, Marie and Virginia, even until the time of their own recent passing remained faithful in their support through significant estate gifts to KCOM.
Total gifts through estates to ATSU in 2007 exceeded $800,000 with nearly sixty percent of that amount attributed to bequests from the Hayes and Rinefort estates. Marie Hayes was the wife of John W. Hayes, D.O., FACOS,’28, of East Liverpool, Ohio where he was a general practitioner and surgeon for more than 50 years. Dr. Hayes was president of the American Osteopathic Association in 1966-67. Following her husband’s death in 1985, Marie worked with ATSU-KCOM to establish the Still Partners program and remained its staunchest supporter for many years. Leading by example, she consistently advanced the cause of philanthropic support for the University. She was instrumental in establishing through the Still Partners, the A.T. Still Library Endowment Fund, specifically intended to enhance and improve the services of the Kirksville campus library. In 1993, she created the John W. and Marie B. Hayes Library Endowment Fund for the purpose of providing perpetual funds to purchase reference materials and to bring a national speaker on Parkinson’s disease to campus. Her estate gift, totaling nearly $145,000 provides for half of that amount to flow into the Hayes Library Endowment and for the other half to fund Kirksville campus beautification projects.
Virginia Rinefort was the wife of Harry E. Rinefort, D.O.,’34. They lived in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan where he practiced family medicine. Upon completion of an estate plan that included a bequest gift to KCOM, the Rineforts became members of the ATSU Legacy Society. The Legacy Society affords special recognition to alumni and friends who have declared their intent to provide support for the University in their estate plans. In the years after Dr. Rinefort’s death in 1993, Virginia continued her relationship and support of ATSU as a Still Partner. At her passing this year, the University received from the estate a gift of just over $330,000. Of this amount the Rineforts had designated that half would go to the unrestricted general fund of KCOM and the remainder to the Rinefort KCOM Student Emergency Grant Endowment.
With careful planning you too can take with you a parting thought of satisfaction, knowing that your worldly possessions will be used to further the ideals of the osteopathic healthcare. At ATSU we urge every friend and supporter to take time to prepare a will and include a bequest for the University purpose most important to you. Doing so will ensure our ability to instill the values of compassion and integrity in our future healthcare professionals for many years to come. “The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” –William James.
SUPPORTING THE MISSION…
YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
Driven by a lifelong passion to serve, Daniel Biery, D.O., is keenly focused on improving the well being of his patients and ensuring the continuity of high quality osteopathic education for the healthcare professionals of the future. In the years since his graduation in 1972 from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCOM), Dr. Biery’s service to and support of the mission of A.T. Still University (ATSU) continues to unfold through a variety of special gifts and talents.
Looking back in time to his Ohio roots and a family legacy of osteopathic education at KCOM is where one discovers the origins of his strong feelings for the University. Role models including his father, Richard J. Biery, D.O., KCOM ’41 and uncle, John Harakal, D.O., KCOM ’57 fueled his own desire and that of his brother, John C. Biery, D.O., KCOM ‘ 74 to become an osteopathic physician. “As a second generation graduate from the founding college of osteopathic medicine,” says Dr. Biery, “I have seen the growth of the physical plant and areas of education offered by the University, and I realize that giving back to the school is the right thing to do.” Early in his career, Dr. Biery began an annual commitment of financial support that has continued uninterrupted.
Dr. Biery goes on to note, “I want KCOM to be able to continue to educate and train osteopathic physicians and leaders of the future, and help ensure that the College remains the premier school in osteopathic medicine.” His commitment to seeing this become a reality can be found in several specials gifts to ATSU including: The establishment and ongoing support of the Richard J. Biery, D.O. Family Endowment, the purchase and funding of a charitable life insurance policy, and the funding of a student study room in the new Connell Information Technology Center on the Missouri campus.
With an eye to the future, Dr. Biery has recently completed a generous bequest provision in his estate to support the educational needs of the generations to follow him. Coming back to his focus on mission Dr. Biery states, “I give to KCOM to help advance its goal of graduating a complete physician. As the founding school of osteopathic medicine, with the philosophy of mind body interaction and wellness, this is the correct answer to what should be taught to achieve that goal. My gifts help to perpetuate those basic teachings that were first developed over 120 years ago by Dr. Still.”
Dr. Biery and his wife, Betty, reside in Phelps, New York where he is a gastroenterology specialist. His past service as Kirksville Osteopathic Alumni Association board member and president, along with his current role as a member of the ATSU Board of Trustees, gives him much personal satisfaction in seeing firsthand how alumni gifts and the University’s mission are achieving their intended purposes. Of Dr. Biery, says Bob Basham, Vice-President of Institutional Advancement at ATSU, “His extraordinary record of both financial support and personal service over his entire adult life make this University and its students better every day. He is truly a living legend of generosity.”
Goal of an Endowed Chair Fulfilled
John P. Wood, D.O.,’27, a pioneer in orthopedic surgery and an osteopathic legend, died in 1995, but his legacy lives on through an orthopedic/sports medicine endowed chair at ATSU. Dr. Wood’s son, John, recently completed the funding his father started for the $1 million endowment. This generous gift, a reflection of Dr. Wood’s sound financial planning and commitment to the betterment of osteopathic medicine, will ultimately enhance the educational experience of ATSU students now and in the years to come.
Dr. Wood was born on April 20, 1903, near Coleman, Mich. He graduated from the Kirksville School of Applied Science, Kirksville, Mo. in 1925, and from the Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery in 1927.
Dr. Wood opened his first office in Detroit in 1927, then joined the staff at the Detroit Osteopathic Hospital. He moved his practice to Birmingham, Mich., in 1929 and went into orthopedic surgery full time in 1935. Dr. Wood once said he did over 4,000 laminectomies during his career in addition to numerous other major bone and joint surgeries.
Among his pioneering accomplishments in orthopedic surgery, Dr. Wood was particularly known for his lumbar disk surgery technique developed in the mid- to late-1940s. He sought to constantly improve his technique by analyzing statistical reports and studying other surgical methods with world-renowned surgeons like Dr. Wilder Penfield, and Dr. Eduard Sansom in Montreal, Canada; Dr. K. Lindblom in Stockholm, Sweden; and Dr. Lorenz Böhler in Vienna, Austria.
Recognized for his expertise in sports medicine, Dr. Wood’s patients have included many professional athletes from the Detroit Lions, Pistons, Red Wings and Tigers, as well as high school athletes from the Detroit area.
During his career, Dr. Wood was recognized numerous times for his lifelong dedication to the practice of medicine. The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA) have each awarded Dr. Wood its highest honor, presenting him with the Distinguished Service Certificate. In 1984, Dr. Wood received the Orel F. Martin Medal, the most prestigious honor awarded by the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, and the Walter F. Patenge Medal of Public Service from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Wood was a past president of the MOA and the AOA. He was a founding member, past president, and Fellow of the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics. Additionally, he was a founding member and first president of the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine, and he was a Fellow and life member of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons.
Dr. Wood’s talents also transcended the medical field into writing and publishing. He served as the editorial chairman for the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics and the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, and as editorial consultant to the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. He also was a member of the American Medical Writers Association and author of Osteopathic Orthopedics and other Selected Papers: A Reminiscent Review (1985).