Family With Long-Time UB Ties Gives Gift to Fund Scholarships For Medical Students

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has received a $508,000 gift from a trust created by Helen Hekimian, whose family has helped UB in many ways since its earliest days.

The gift will be used to fund scholarships for students demonstrating academic merit and financial need.

"This generous gift can help so many students now and in the future. And if we consider the outcomes of the scholarships we will be able to award, the results will be with us for a long time," said John Naughton, M.D., UB vice president for clinical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

"Who knows when a life might be saved or a cure discovered by one of our graduates helped by this gift. Dr. and Mrs. Hekimian recognized the importance of excellence and innovation in health care, and provided the resources needed to make it possible."

Mrs. Hekimian was the daughter of the late William Crosby, a prominent Buffalo businessman active in university affairs earlier in this century. As a result of his generous gifts in the 1920s, UB's Crosby Hall was named in honor of his family.

An active and prominent volunteer in a variety of local and international causes, the former Helen Crosby was married to Ivan Hekimian, M.D. A 1927 graduate of the UB medical school, he founded the local Red Cross Regional Blood Program, taught at the medical school and maintained an active patient-care practice in Buffalo.

The Crosby family also has helped the UB School of Management through establishment of "The Helen Crosby Scholarship," which gives cash awards each year to incoming graduate students who show significant academic merit.

The gift for the medical students' scholarships was made possible through the use of a life-income arrangement, a popular gift-planning option.