Planning Matters Spring 2023: Planned Giving Donors Society Gets New Name

Honoring a Legacy of Leadership

Southwestern Medical Foundation and UT Southwestern have renamed The Heritage Society to honor Dr. Kern Wildenthal’s leadership. Now, our dedicated group of planned giving donors who have pledged part of their estate to help move medical progress forward will be known as The Wildenthal Society. Dr. Wildenthal has been a leader in Dallas medicine for more than four decades, including as a dean (1967–1986) and then president (1986–2008) of UT Southwestern Medical Center, president of Southwestern Medical Foundation (2008–2012), and president of Children’s Medical Center Foundation (2013–2016), as well as multiple years as a board member, officer, and consultant for numerous medical charities in North Texas, nationally, and internationally.

Dr. Kern Wildenthal visiting with Dr. Michael Brown at the 2023 Wildenthal Society Luncheon.

Under Dr. Wildenthal’s leadership, philanthropic support for Southwestern Medical Foundation and UT Southwestern soared.

The total endowment of the two organizations increased by over 3,000% from 1986–2008.

The new endowments included more than 400 chairs, professorships, and research and clinical centers, which have enabled the recruitment and retention of internationally renowned physicians and scientists, many of whom became members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and six of whom won Nobel prizes.

The Foundation’s planned giving society was established in 1995 to recognize those individuals and couples—now numbering more than 400—who pledge support for Southwestern Medical Foundation or UT Southwestern through their estate plans. Dr. Wildenthal and his wife, Marnie, were early members of the planned giving society.

“There’s no one else like Kern. All of us here in North Texas are the fortunate beneficiaries of his achievements. He attracted the very best doctors and scientists, and he attracted the gifts that made it all possible.”
Jere Thompson, Jr.
Chair, Southwestern Medical Foundation

A New Law Brings New Giving Opportunities to Set Up a Legacy IRA

In late 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 was passed. A section of the legislation, known as the SECURE 2.0 Act, provides new opportunities for charitable giving.

Image of the United States capitol building in Washington D.C.

Welcome Dr. Saad Omer, Founding Dean of the New O’Donnell School of Public Health

Dr. Saad Omer is an internationally recognized epidemiologist, who previously directed the Yale Institute for Global Health. He will welcome the school’s inaugural class in the fall of 2023.