fry
Ardis and Luther Fry
News Releases
10/29/09
$250,000 gift adds to professorship for KU School of Medicine’s ophthalmology department
Contact:
Lisa Scheller, 785-832-7398
Rosita McCoy, 785-832-7336
LAWRENCE, Kan. —Luther Fry lives and works 400 miles from the University of Kansas Medical Center. But distance is no barrier to his vision for the KU School of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology.
Luther and Ardis Fry, of Garden City, Kan., recently provided an additional $250,000 gift to augment an endowed fund they established through KU Endowment in 2001. The Luther and Ardis Fry Professorship in Ophthalmology fund provides support for the faculty member who serves as department chair. Since 2001, the Frys have provided a total of $750,000 to support the professorship.
Luther Fry is an ophthalmologist who earned his undergraduate degree at KU in 1963 and graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1967. Ardis Fry is a registered nurse who works with her husband at Fry Eye Surgicenter.
The Frys specified that their professorship be awarded to the person who is the department chair. John Sutphin, M.D., is the current chair of KU’s Department of Ophthalmology.
“One reason we wanted to establish this endowed chairmanship for the department chair is because of John,” Fry said. “We hope he’ll stay and keep going with the good job he’s doing.”
Sutphin is the second person to hold this professorship. The first was Martin Mainster, M.D., who now is a professor emeritus.
Sutphin said the support the Frys provide through the professorship and other gifts to the residency program allows the department to be innovative and share the message of Kansas ophthalmology nationally and internationally.
“We are grateful that such a talented couple recognizes the value of what we do in preparing for the future of Kansas and ophthalmology,” Sutphin said, “especially in light of their impressive achievements at the Fry Clinic in Garden City.”
Luther Fry grew up in the southwest Kansas town of Montezuma, and Ardis grew up near McPherson. After medical school, Luther completed his residency in ophthalmology at Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit. Because he longed to return to southwest Kansas, the couple settled in Garden City. Today, Fry Eye Associates includes three full-time ophthalmologists, including the Frys’ son, KU alumnus Eric Fry, who graduated from the KU School of Medicine in 2003 and completed his ophthalmology residency in 2008.
Faculty members play a crucial role in students’ lives, said Fry: “I’m still grateful for the mentoring and encouragement I received from many of my professors, but especially from Dr. Al Lemoine, who was the head of KU’s ophthalmology department from 1950 to 1980.”
Barbara Atkinson, executive vice chancellor, University of Kansas Medical Center, and executive dean of the KU School of Medicine, said professorships such as the Luther and Ardis Fry Professorship in Ophthalmology are critical to the success of the university. “Luther and Ardis Fry have been quite generous over the years with their gifts and efforts on behalf of the Department of Ophthalmology,” Atkinson said.
Since 2001, 35 new endowed professorships have been established for the KU Medical Center, and 34 new professorships have been created for the Lawrence campus.
The fund is managed by KU Endowment, the official fundraising and fund-management foundation for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment was the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.
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