Most of the funding will support the Department of Pediatrics’ Forensics Medicine team, which works to identify, evaluate, document and prevent child abuse and neglect.
The remainder of the money will go to the UofL Autism Center at Kosair Charities, The Kosair Charities Fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, the Kosair Charities Pediatric Clinical Research Unit, the Kosair Charities Birth Defects Research Fellowship in the UofL School of Dentistry, the Kosair Charities Pediatric Surgery Research Fellowship, the division of child neurology and the maternal-fetal medicine program.
“I have said many times over the years that the people have no better friend than the Kosair Charities,” said James Ramsey, UofL president, at the announcement Sept. 18. “Their commitment to improving the lives of our children is incredible, and their commitment to the university is amazing.”
The gift brings Kosair’s total philanthropic support of UofL to nearly $30 million.
“In our community, we are fortunate to have an institution like the University of Louisville that is concerned with enhancing so many aspects of the lives of children, and especially on the health front,” said Jerry Ward, chairman of the Kosair Charities Board of Directors. “We are privileged to partner with an organization that is as committed as we are to ensuring our children are as well cared for as possible.”
Kosair’s gift counts toward UofL’s $1 billion Charting our Course comprehensive campaign. UofL launched it in 2010 with an initial goal of $750 million. The campaign concludes at the end of June 2014. To date, more than 65,000 people and organizations have contributed more than$715 million.