The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa has issued a $500,000 challenge grant to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation’s Capital Projects Needs Campaign. The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation was established in 1948 in order to support capital improvements for educational, social service, and health-care organizations. The Mabee Foundation’s generosity extends to institutions across the Southwestern United States.“We are thrilled that the Mabee Foundation has pledged such a significant gift,” said OMRF President J. Donald Capra, M.D. “The generosity of the Mabee Foundation and others will help OMRF reach its full potential by allowing us to expand our biomedical research capabilities and enhance the overall function and appearance of the facilities.”
The grant will be used to renovate outdated laboratory and research space within OMRF’s main building. The overall cost of this renovation project is $7.2 million.
The comprehensive campaign, entitled “For the Future of Medical Research,” seeks to raise $100 million in five years for both endowment needs and capital improvements. As of January, more than $46 million had been received or pledged to the fundraising effort. The campaign was officially launched on November 10, 1999.
Chairman of the “For the Future of Medical Research” campaign is H.E. “Gene” Rainbolt, chairman of BankFirst Corporation and prominent civic leader and philanthropist. OMRF’s Chairman of the Board of Directors is David R. Brown, M.D., Oklahoma City. The campaign committee includes Sharon Bell, partner in Rogers and Bell law firm of Tulsa; Len Cason, partner in Hartzog Conger and Cason of Oklahoma City; Michael A. Cawley, president an CEO of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation of Ardmore; and Brooks (Boots) Hall, Jr., chairman of Fred Jones Automotive Group of Oklahoma City.
Chartered in 1946, OMRF is a private, non-profit biomedical research institution which employs over 400 scientists, physicians, technicians, and administrative and support personnel, including Oklahoma’s only two Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. OMRF focuses on several critical areas of research: Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, lupus and other autoimmune diseases, stroke, AIDS, children’s diseases and genetic disorders.
