News Releases
12/8/05
A University of Kansas Distinguished Professor of Medicine and expert in polycystic kidney disease was formally invested today with the Harry Statland Professorship in Nephrology at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.
Jared J. Grantham, M.D., associate dean for medical graduate studies and director emeritus of the Kidney Institute at the Medical Center, was named the Statland Professor during an investiture ceremony today at the KU School of Nursing auditorium. The professorship was established this fall with a total of $1 million in gifts to KU Endowment from the estate of the late Harry Statland, M.D., a longtime professor in the School of Medicine and co-founder of the Statland Clinic at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kan. Statland died in 2003 at age 86.
“Harry Statland was a pioneer in kidney diseases and disorders who left a major impression upon his students, patients, colleagues and community,” said Barbara Atkinson, executive vice chancellor of the KU Medical Center and executive dean of the KU School of Medicine. “It is fitting that the professorship he created be awarded to Jared Grantham, a distinguished professor who is regarded as a highly accomplished researcher in polycystic kidney disease. We are proud to honor both of these physicians today.”
Statland’s wife, Alice Nast Statland, said her husband believed strongly in the potential of medical research.
“It was Harry’s high regard and interest in research that prompted this gift,” Alice Statland said. “He wanted to leave an important legacy for research, and this professorship enabled him to do that.”
Jared J. Grantham, medicine ’64, is a recognized leader in kidney disease research, clinical care and teaching, particularly in the area of polycystic kidney disease. He joined the KU Department of Internal Medicine in the Nephrology Division in 1969 and became director of the division the following year. Grantham, who helped establish the Kidney Institute at the Medical Center, teamed with Joseph Bruening in 1982 to create the PKD Foundation, a foundation that supports research in polycystic kidney disease headquartered in Kansas City, Mo.
Harry Statland, M.D., medicine ’39, served in World War II and was recognized with the Legion of Merit. Together with his brother, Morris Statland, M.D., liberal arts ’42 and medicine ’44, he co-founded the Statland Clinic at Menorah Medical Center in 1948, the first internal medicine clinic of its kind in Kansas City. He served on the staff of Menorah Medical Center until his retirement in 1991. In addition, he was associate clinical professor of medicine at the KU Medical Center from 1961 until 1985 and at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical School from 1974 until 1985.
The gift from Harry Statland’s estate will be managed by KU Endowment, an independent, non-profit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university and one of the largest.
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