News Releases
8/30/05
A 1940s alumnus of Southwest High School and the University of Kansas has given almost $1.8 million for cancer research efforts at the KU Medical Center and the KU campus in Lawrence.
Frank Bowman Tyler, liberal arts ’47, died in 2003, leaving the gift to KU Endowment through his estate plans. Tyler’s gift will fund three positions at KU: a deputy director for clinical cancer care on the Kansas City, Kan., campus; a director of therapeutic cancer treatment development serving the Medical Center and the Lawrence campus; and an assistant director based at the Lawrence campus to coordinate KU’s basic science cancer research programs.
Combined, the three positions will further KU’s cancer programs in the effort to achieve designation as an NCI cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, said Roy Jensen, M.D., director of the Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute at KU. NCI designation would provide additional federal financial support, specialized research programs and special clinical trials for the region, Jensen said. The designation also would help KU attract leading researchers and provide opportunities to train the next generation of cancer doctors in the most up-to-date techniques.
“Frank Tyler wanted to support cancer research at both the KU Medical Center and the Lawrence campus,” Jensen said. “His generous gift will move us one step closer to NCI designation by helping us fund these positions. Tyler’s gift will help all of KU’s campuses work together in the university’s quest to be a world-recognized leader in cancer research, care and education.”
Jim Roberts, vice provost for research on the Lawrence Campus, said the gift would help the university realize its potential in cancer research.
“The best cancer research is fostered through collaborations among researchers and clinicians across a broad spectrum of expertise,” Roberts said. “We are excited to participate in this collaboration, which ultimately will benefit cancer patients with the latest treatments and drug therapies.”
A search for the deputy director position is underway. The deputy director will be charged with coordinating all clinical cancer care activities throughout the Medical Center, The University of Kansas Hospital and a future affiliate network.
The therapeutic treatment position, known as the director of the Office of Therapeutics, Discovery and Development, will lead efforts on KU’s Lawrence and Kansas City campuses to develop laboratory findings leading to cancer drug development, clinical trials, and ultimately, treatment.
The assistant director for basic sciences, based at the Lawrence campus, will be responsible for coordinating basic cancer research on the Lawrence and Kansas City campuses and act as a liaison to other research partners, including the KU Medical Center-Wichita and the Stowers Institute in Kansas City, Mo.
Frank Bowman Tyler graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City, Mo., in 1940, and earned a degree from KU four years later. His work for the federal government included employment with the Central Intelligence Agency in Europe and for the Environmental Protection Agency. He also worked for many years for the Gustin-Bacon Manufacturing Company in Kansas City, Mo., and in continuing education for the KU Medical Center. He was married to the late Dorothy K. Tyler. His father, Frank E. Tyler, liberal arts ‘09, was a prominent Kansas City attorney who together with his wife, the late Erma Bowman Tyler, gave to KU Endowment to establish the Frank Edwards Tyler Distinguished Chair in Law.
KU Endowment is 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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