Chap and Eve Alvord and Elias Alvord Chair in Neuro-Oncology in Honor of Dr. and Mrs. Ellsworth C. Alvord, Jr.
Purpose/Intent: To recruit and retain distinguished faculty in neurological surgery. Chap and Eve Alvord and Elias Alvord Chair in Neuro-Oncology in Honor of Dr. and Mrs. Ellsworth C. Alvord, Jr. Chair shall be filled by candidates who have achieved national recognition in the field of neurological surgery and who are expected to contribute to the advancement of teaching and research in their field.
This chair is one of six honorary positions that helped to establish UW Medicine’s Nancy and Buster Alvord Brain Tumor Center, which is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of nervous system tumors. This endowment honors the late emeritus faculty member Dr. Ellsworth C. “Buster” Alvord, Jr., and his wife, Nancy D. Alvord. The Alvords and members of the extended Alvord family have shown tremendous dedication to UW Medicine with many gifs made to support research, faculty positions and patient care.
Founding Donors: Ellsworth C. (Chap), Eve and Elias Alvord
Dr. Ellsworth’s son, Chap, is a retired stockbroker and his wife Eve is a community volunteer. Their son, Elias, is a software engineer. Together they continue the legacy of leadership and philanthropy established by Nancy and Buster.
Current Holder: Manuel Ferreira, MD, PhD
Richard G. Ellenbogen Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery
Purpose/Intent: To attract and retain a distinguished surgeon to promote excellence in pediatric neurosurgery care, medical education and research. The Richard G. Ellenbogen Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery shall be filled by an individual who has achieved national recognition in the field of pediatric neurosurgery, and who will make significant contributions to the advancement of teaching and research in their field.
Founding Donors: Rick and Kandace Holley
Rick and Kandy Holley and their children, Kerri, Jaime and Michael, moved to Bellevue, Washington in 1984. As a stay-at-home mom, Kandy soon got involved in the children's schools and activities, as well as with community charities. It did not take long for her "charity of choice" to become Children's Hospital. Though none of her own children needed the hospital's services, Kandy believed, as Children's does, that all children deserve the best life has to offer.
Kandy's many years of involvement with Children's (as a lifetime guild member, trustee and chair of the Guild Association Board of Trustees) inspired Rick to become involved as well. Rick's faithful support of Kandy's "Children's time" in the beginning, led to his own participation through their mutual involvement in many Children's fund-raising events, and Rick's service as Chairman of the Children's Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees. In 1999, Rick and Kandy established their first endowment at Children's - the Holley Family Tree Endowment for Brain Tumor Research.
Rick and Kandy first came to know Dr. Ellenbogen through Kandy's travels with him to speaking engagements at statewide guild roundtable meetings. Rick and Kandy deeply respect Dr. Ellenbogen and thus, chose to establish this endowed chair in 2003 in his honor to support continued excellence in Children's Department of Neurosurgery.
Current Holder: Amy Lee, M.D.
George A. Ojemann Endowed Chair for Epilepsy Research
Purpose/Intent: To establish an endowed chair for the benefit of neurological surgery research in cortical function and its relation to epilepsy. Candidates for this chair shall have achieved recognition in their field and are expected to contribute to the advancement of teaching and research in their field.
Founding Donors: Margaret and Kenneth Quarles
Kenneth and Margaret Quarles were dear friends and neighbors of UW Department of Neurological Surgery retired faculty members, Professors George and Linda Ojemann who share a common interest in the treatment of patients with difficult seizure problems and an understanding of higher brain functions. Mr. Quarles retired from the Alaska Steamship Company where he worked for most of his life except for time spent in the Air Force in WWII and Korea serving as a navigator and bombardier. He was very proud of being a veteran and having been able to support his country. Once retired, Mr. and Mrs. Quarles continued to enjoy their lives in the Puget Sound area by sailing extensively on Lake Washington and in the San Juan Islands. The Quarles were named 2006 Citizens of the Year by the City of Mercer Island when they generously entered into an agreement with Mercer Island to transfer a large piece of their property adjacent to Pioneer Park to be exclusively used for parks and recreation by all of the Island's residents. When Kenneth passed away peacefully in 2009, they had been married 50 years. Mrs. Quarles passed away in 2016 at the age of 101.
After receiving his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Iowa, Dr. George Ojemann completed his neurological surgery residency at the University of Washington, and in 1966 joined the faculty as a neurosurgeon and researcher specializing in epilepsy. Though he retired from clinical practice in 2005, he continues his research and teaching activities. Considered a giant in the field of both neurological surgery and neuroscience, George Ojemann has helped define and shape both disciplines. His superb care of individuals with epilepsy and brain tumors coupled with pioneering clinical research on cortical mapping and language localization has affected countless lives globally. He has been an influential leader at the national level including service on NIH Council and our national accrediting and education boards and through his publications and teaching; he has dramatically influenced innovation in neurosurgical care and neuroscience research. Dr. George Ojemann has enhanced science, patient care, and the educations of generations of UW medical students and residents. We are all, current faculty and residents as well as former, enormously grateful to him for his gifts to us. The Ojemann legacy will stand in perpetuity for the good it has brought to our greater community of medicine and science.
Inaugural Holder: TBD
James and Gaye Pigott Sports Health and Safety Endowed Chair
Purpose/Intent: To enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain a distinguished faculty member in the field of neuroscience, whose expertise may include sports health and safety, traumatic brain injury and other related fields. This faculty member shall serve as the research director for The Sports Institute at UW Medicine and will coordinate and promote projects to make sports safer for youth and other athletes
Founding Donors: James and Gaye Pigott
The Pigott family founded PACCAR Inc, a Fortune 200 global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of high-quality light, medium and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates based in Bellevue, Washington. Philanthropists James and Gaye Pigott are longtime supporters of the University of Washington and UW Medicine.
Inaugural Holder: Christine Mac Donald, PhD
Funds from this endowment support Dr. Mac Donald’s research efforts, which include using advanced imaging techniques to evaluate concussion in the U.S. military, severe brain injury in adult civilians and the spectrum of brain injury in children with specific emphasis on co-occurring mental health conditions. She has particular expertise in advanced MRI methods and the application of these imaging methods to concussion and traumatic brain injury.
Theodore S. Roberts Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery
Purpose/Intent: To attract and retain a distinguished surgeon to promote excellence in pediatric neurosurgery care, medical education and research. The Theodore S. Roberts Endowed Chair shall be filled by an individual who has achieved national recognition in the field of pediatric neurosurgery, and who will make significant contributions to the advancement of teaching and research in the field.
Founding Donors: Seattle Children’s Hospital and the UW Department of Neurological Surgery
Professor Theodore S. Roberts was an outstanding humanist and physician, world-renowned neurological surgeon and brilliant teacher who served Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington from 1985 to 2001. From 1993 to 1997, he was chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. Roberts was a technical wizard, beloved by all his patients, colleagues and staff. He was one of the three inventors of the BRW and CRW stereotactic guidance devices used in operations around the globe on adult and pediatric patients for decades. He was a visionary who had a profound effect on our field and everyone he touched. Before joining Children’s and the UW, Dr. Roberts was Chairman of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Utah College of Medicine. He was famous for performing one of the first successful separations a craniopagus twins in the world. With his characteristic humility, Dr. Roberts was reluctant to bring any attention to his surgical feats. In 1998, Children’s Hospital and the UW Department of Neurological Surgery decided to create this endowed chair in his name to honor him for his distinguished academic activities over the previous four decades in which he improved thousands of patients’ lives and trained two generations of neurological surgeons. Dr. Roberts was an expert sailor, enthusiastic and skilled pilot and beloved family man. Those who worked with him felt blessed to be around such an inspirational, talented and profoundly modest leader. Dr. Roberts sadly passed away in 2007.
Current Holder: Richard G. Ellenbogen, MD, FACS