April 13, 2007

Eugene and Marilyn Glick Establish Eye Research Institute at IU School of Medicine

INDIANAPOLIS — Community leaders and philanthropists Eugene and Marilyn Glick are donating $30 million to establish the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

The Glick's gift will support both the construction of a new building and the advancement of research, education and eye care at the School. Of the gift, $20 million will support the new facility – its location to be determined – and $10 million will create an endowment that will advance research in eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and other eye diseases of aging, as well as eye diseases in children.

Many of these diseases presently are not curable and are prevalent among older adults. As the population of aging adults increases, vision loss from many of these diseases is expected to increase.

"It is my hope that some day researchers will find a way to prevent or cure glaucoma, macular degeneration and other diseases that rob us of our sight," said Marilyn Glick. "My dream is that as a result of our gift, major breakthroughs will be made at the Glick Eye Institute of the Indiana University School of Medicine." Mrs. Glick has devoted over a quarter of a century in work for the prevention of blindness in Indiana.

This gift extends Eugene and Marilyn Glick's effort to enhance the quality of life for people in Indiana and beyond by creating a facility that attracts the world’s best researchers in eye disease.

"What Indianapolis offers our community is improving by leaps and bounds," said Mrs. Glick. "Gene and I are committed to doing our part to make that happen." Eugene and Marilyn Glick founded the Gene B. Glick Company in 1947 in Indianapolis. Over the past 60 years, the company has built more than 30,000 single-family homes and apartments and now manages more than 17,000 apartments in 11 states.

"The advances in research that will be made possible by the Glick's gift will reduce the burden of blindness and loss of sight as new cures and treatments are discovered through research here at IU," says Louis B. Cantor, M.D., the Jay C. and Lucile L. Kahn Professor of Glaucoma Research and a professor of ophthalmology at IU, who played a key role in bringing the gift to IU.

This gift will enhance the School's ophthalmology programs, creating opportunities to recruit specialists with demonstrated success in attracting research funding from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, and who will attract talented residents who are training to become the next generation of ophthalmologists.

"The faculty and I have set a goal of becoming one of the top 10 eye institutes in the country," says Robert D. Yee, M.D., the chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and the Merrill Grayson Professor of Ophthalmology at the IU School of Medicine. "This gift gives us the foundation to achieve that goal."

The Indianapolis couple's intent for dedicating a portion of their gift to a new facility is to create the kind of research space that will attract the caliber of researchers whose work requires innovative and state-of-the-art facilities.

"This gift will significantly enhance our plans to advance the life sciences at IU and improve the health of Hoosiers," said D. Craig Brater, M.D., dean of the IU School of Medicine and vice president for life sciences at IU. "We are deeply appreciative of the Glick’s generosity and support of our vision."

The announcement heralds the upcoming 100-year anniversary for the IU School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology in 2008.

For more information on the Department of Ophthalmology, see www.eyecare.iu.edu.

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Media Contacts:

Mary Hardin
(317) 274-7722
(317) 695-4090 (cell)
mhardin@iupui.edu

Pamela Su Perry
(317) 274-7722
(317) 695-2299 (cell)
pperry@iupui.edu