News Releases
8/6/07
An alumnus with deep Kansas roots and an interest in science still keeps an eye on his alma mater. Dr. James Bredfeldt recently established a bequest to KU Endowment to create a professorship in hepatology for KU School of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine.
KU prepared him for his professional life – lessons Bredfeldt said he still appreciates.
“I spent 11 years at KU. That’s a big portion of someone’s life – steps along the way. There were people who influenced me, people who helped me grow,” said the 59-year-old Bredfeldt. “It was a terrific experience for a kid who emerged from a small town and it provided opportunities for me.”
The bequest will endow the “James E. Bredfeldt Professorship of Hepatology” with earnings supporting a professor’s salary, teaching, research and clinical activities.
“What I hope that will do is enable KU to locate an outstanding individual to hold that position who will be influential in attracting other junior people in to KU,” Bredfeldt said, noting the medical school has a well established and dynamic liver program.
Additionally, the bequest will establish scholarships for a graduate and undergraduate KU student enrolled in biosciences.
“This gift is a demonstration of James E. Bredfeldt's dedication to the state of Kansas,” said Dr. Steven Stites, interim chair of the School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine. “It is because of gifts like this that the department is able to provide excellent care and innovative research for the community.”
Bredfeldt’s interest in science and medicine stretched well past his years at KU. After completing medical school and an internship at KU Medical Center, Bredfeldt finished a two-year gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. When he discovered his strong interest in liver diseases, he secured a fellowship at Yale University. That fellowship lasted two years and led to a successful career at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, where, since 1988, Bredfeldt has specialized in gastroenterology and hepatology.
Since 2003, Bredfeldt has served on KU’s alumni advisory board for biosciences, a link to his interest in science as well as to his Kansas roots. Bredfeldt grew up in the southcentral Kansas town of Offerle where his father ran the local grain elevator.
From his childhood, Bredfeldt knew he’d someday attend college at KU.
“My father never went to college, but he thought Phog Allen was one of the greatest individuals on the planet,” Bredfeldt said. “So I was indoctrinated at a young age to KU. I think it would have broken his heart if I had gone somewhere else.”
The gift will be managed by the KU Endowment Association, an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.
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