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| Vol. 24, No. 5 |
| March 15, 2002 |
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$20 Million Granted for New Molecular Medicine Building by DAVID BATES The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston A five-year, $20 million grant from the Houston-based Brown Foundation Inc. is the largest single contribution ever given to The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. The gift to the New Frontiers Campaign will help fund construction of a new research building for the Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, also called the IMM. Campaign chair Beth Robertson said the Brown Foundation gift is an exciting start to a major fundraising effort. "We are incredibly privileged to have the Brown Foundation’s lead support," she said. "With this amazing contribution, UT-Houston gains a powerful partner in the fight against disease, and the IMM gains significant funds for its new home." The Brown Foundation Inc. has been a supporter of UT-Houston since the early 1970s. Over the years, the foundation has helped establish such programs as the TexGen research collaboration and student scholarships for The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston. The Brown Foundation also made a generous lead contribution to help create the Institute of Mol-ecular Medicine in the early 1990s. The Brown Foundation Inc. was established by Houston civic leaders Herman and Margarett Root Brown and George R. and Alice Pratt Brown 50 years ago. The New Frontiers campaign seeks to raise $200 million to build and equip a new home for the IMM and to recruit and support world-class genetic and molecular scientists. Current building plans call for an estimated 200,000 gross square feet of space to be constructed within a nine-floor building. Directed by Nobel laureate Dr. Ferid Murad, the IMM currently is housed in temporary space in the Texas A&M University System building at 2121 W. Holcombe Blvd. The IMM capital campaign now totals $37 million, and is led by Houston community leaders and UT-Houston development board members Beth Robertson, chair, and Ben Love, co-chair. "The Brown Foundation has made an important investment in our community, in education and research, as well as disease prevention," said UT-Houston President Dr. James T. Willerson. "I have no doubt that the scientists of the IMM will succeed in finding cures and preventive therapies for the most widespread human diseases. This campaign ultimately will make that possible."
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