Planned giving is a powerful way for donors to plant seeds today that inspire medical progress forward. This year, Southwestern Medical Foundation celebrates three decades of The Wildenthal Society and the exceptional generosity of its visionary friends whose giving helps ensure medical excellence for the benefit of countless individuals.
In 1995, Southwestern Medical Foundation established The Heritage Society to recognize those who make planned gifts to benefit the Foundation or UT Southwestern Medical Center. For 30 years, these lasting gifts have made a tremendous impact by preparing our communities to meet the health care challenges of tomorrow.
In 2023, this group was renamed as The Wildenthal Society to honor former UT Southwestern President and community trailblazer, Kern Wildenthal, M.D., Ph.D., a brilliant scientist who was called to lead a young medical school into the 21st century. His illustrious career spanned over 40 years at UT Southwestern and Southwestern Medical Foundation, including being named the youngest dean of an American medical school at the age of 38. In 1986, Dr. Wildenthal was named the second President of UT Southwestern, where he spent the next 22 years contributing significantly to its growth and prominence.
Even after retiring and transitioning to President Emeritus in 2008, Dr. Wildenthal continued his influential work, leading in various roles as President of Southwestern Medical Foundation, President of Children’s Medical Center Foundation, and Executive Vice-President of Children’s Health System of Texas, while also providing consultancy to numerous organizations. He and his wife, Marnie, were early members of The Heritage Society.
Dr. Wildenthal recently shared his thoughts with Michael McMahan, President and CEO of Southwestern Medical Foundation, about the tremendous growth and impact of The Wildenthal Society and its distinguished record of support for breakthrough scientific discoveries, outstanding medical education and training, and excellence in patient care.
Q: MICHAEL MCMAHAN
During your presidency from 1986 to 2008, UT Southwestern Medical Center experienced remarkable growth, including a tenfold increase in research funding, major campus expansion, and national recognition across multiple specialties. What made this period so transformative, and what factors were the most critical to sustaining that success?
A: DR. KERN WILDENTHAL
The keys to success were UT Southwestern’s strong foundation and thriving workplace culture, where talented and innovative people collaborated and innovated to reach their goals. In 1986, the institution had limited financial resources, and we faced a 20% cut in state funding. But we were driven by forward-looking visionaries who were not just willing to grow, but keen to grow. We also live in a community of caring and generous people. Once they understood more about the needs of UT Southwestern and how their help was crucial to the institution’s success, they came to support the Foundation.
Q: MICHAEL MCMAHAN
In 1995, you helped launch what was then called The Heritage Society to recognize those who included Southwestern Medical Foundation or UT Southwestern in their estate plans. What was your vision for planned giving and sustaining UT Southwestern’s upward trajectory?
A: DR. KERN WILDENTHAL
Planned giving is an essential part of any development program that has ambitious plans for the future. Once again, people play important roles in its success. To recruit and retain the best faculty, UT Southwestern must provide startup funds and space to work in laboratories, hospitals, and classrooms. Faculty also need predictability and sustainability. If you are trying to recruit someone who’s going to be here 30 years and change the world of medicine, they want to be assured that they will be supported financially.
Long-term support through endowments and planned giving—either through wills or endowment trusts, charitable remainder trusts, and gift annuities—really provides the kind of predictability that we can promise someone who is joining the faculty that “we will be behind you.” It is not just an empty promise because we can point to the multiple times that promises have been fulfilled.
Q: MICHAEL MCMAHAN
Over the course of your career, you’ve worked closely with many individuals who made planned or estate gifts that had deep personal meaning, often very quietly behind the scenes. What have your experiences with these individuals and families taught you about legacy and values?
A: DR. KERN WILDENTHAL
I believe almost everyone wants to make a difference in their work, family, and community, and to do so gives them significant gratification. Personally, I would like to do something that will last longer than my life, and I’m sure the same is true for many others. We need current gifts, but we also need long-term, sustained support — sometimes from individuals who may not be in a position to give today, but who recognize they can make an important contribution in the future.
Q: MICHAEL MCMAHAN
As we look at today’s medical challenges and the opportunities for philanthropy, where do you see the greatest potential to make a difference in the North Texas landscape?
A: DR. KERN WILDENTHAL
The Dallas-Fort Worth area is flourishing with tremendous increases in population growth, wealth, and community pride. We must help people understand that one way they can really make this community shine is through donations to medicine. UT Southwestern helps the community by providing exceptional health care and offering outstanding health workforce training.
When individuals invest in UT Southwestern, they are strengthening a medical center that provides exceptional health care today and trains the outstanding physicians and scientists who will serve Dallas tomorrow. Many of those physicians will stay here, contributing to local care and driving new discoveries that lead to future breakthroughs. In this way, the community’s generosity not only benefits current patients but helps sustain a cycle of excellence that continues to strengthen the region for years to come.
Q: MICHAEL MCMAHAN
We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of what was The Heritage Society, now The Wildenthal Society. What would you say to someone considering a legacy or estate gift who believes in UT Southwestern’s mission and understands its importance in the medical community, but hasn’t quite taken that next step to make it official?
A: DR. KERN WILDENTHAL
I would say, “It’s time to really think about the future. We all want this community to thrive, so let’s think about how we can make UT Southwestern better. If you want to make a difference, do what you can now, but think about the long-term opportunities to make an impact through your estate, endowments, and your will. There are tax advantages, there are feel-good advantages, and there are helping-your-fellow-man advantages. Part of it is what you do while you are living, and part of it is what you do after you are no longer here.”
Q: MICHAEL MCMAHAN
As you look at how UT Southwestern has grown over the last 80-plus years, what do you see as the most exciting things on the horizon in medicine, here and around the globe?
A: DR. KERN WILDENTHAL
I have witnessed much of the history of UT Southwestern Medical Center. As gratifying as the past has been in terms of medical transformation at this institution and the world, even more exciting are the advances that are certain to come. When I became President in 1986, I was lucky enough to have a very good foundation to build upon, but the foundation is even stronger today. I think Dallas will be the home to many new scientific discoveries, countless lives saved, new generations of physicians and scientists, and lots of commercial development – the rock that keeps Dallas at the forefront of great cities.
