When Des Moines University asked its alumni, employees and friends to make gifts in celebration of One Day for DMU, they responded in a big way. During the annual 24-hour event, from noon to noon April 20-21, 293 donors contributed a record $288,144, making it the best One Day for DMU to date.
“The generous response to our call for support underscores the belief that our alumni, faculty, staff and friends have in the University, their commitment to our mission and their great excitement for our ambitious future,” says DMU President Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D. “Thanks to all our donors, we can implement our bold vision as one of the nation’s most innovative medical and health sciences institutions. I am deeply grateful for their support.”
That “ambitious future” includes the construction under way of a new campus in West Des Moines. The University is on track to move to the site in 2023. Building the new campus is among the goals of the $50 million Purple & Proud Campaign, which is set to conclude in 2024. Other goals of the campaign are supporting students through scholarships and other resources and investing in faculty to recruit and retain outstanding educators.
Fueling the success of this year’s One Day for DMU were DMU employees: Nearly 65 percent gave during the event, achieving the faculty/staff challenge of exceeding 50 percent participation. Thirty-nine individuals made gifts to the University for the first time. In addition, Harry Stenzel, D.O.’63, a retired pediatrician in Ohio, who made a $100,000 gift, designated for the College of Osteopathic Medicine Annual Fund, through an IRA rollover. The gift is part of Dr. Stenzel’s 18 years of consecutive giving to DMU.
“Participation by the people who know DMU the best – our employees – as well as by longtime donors and individuals who are engaging with us for the first time all speaks so loudly and powerfully about our strength, stability and potential going forward,” President Franklin says.
This year’s One Day included a “deans challenge” among the University’s three colleges. Wallace “Wally” Boeve, Ed.D., PA-C, dean of the College of Health Sciences (CHS); Steven Halm, D.O., FAAP, FACP, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM); and Kevin Smith, D.P.M.’95, Ph.D., M.S., FACFAS, dean of the College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (CPMS), challenged their alumni to show they have the “best” DMU college by making gifts to DMU during One Day. The dean whose college had the highest percentage of alumni participants got the sweet prize of seeing the other two deans wear his college’s apparel.
CPMS alumni edged out grads of the other two colleges, giving Dean Smith the victory.
“We have great alumni, and when the college put out the call, they responded like they usually do. They are proud of their college and are always willing to help out in any capacity,” he says. “I am also looking forward to seeing Dean Boeve and Dean Halm wearing CPMS apparel.”
