Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery

Renowned surgeon Dr. Eric W. Fonkalsrud was an international authority on the management of congenital chest wall malformations and gastroesophageal reflux disease in children, as well as neonatal surgery and ways to control inflammatory bowel disease in children and adults. His distinguished career included the role of founding Chief of Pediatric Surgery at UCLA. He also developed active clinical and research programs in many areas relating to infants and children.

In 1968, Dr. Fonkalsrud initiated liver transplantation at UCLA, using a heterotopic technique where the recipient’s liver is left in place and a donor’s liver is transplanted into an alternate site, which was different from the orthotopic approach. He was among the pioneers in the development of the ileoanal pouch procedure for patients with ulcerative colitis and carried out many physiological studies following this extensive operation. His group had one of the country’s largest clinical experiences with this surgery—treating more than 150 children and 600 adults. Overall, Dr. Fonkalsrud performed more than 15,000 operations during his career, including nearly 1,000 cardiac procedures.

As a consummate educator and mentor to thousands of students and residents, many of Dr. Fonkalsrud’s trainees advanced to illustrious careers in medicine and more than a dozen of his residents and research fellows went on to train in pediatric surgery fellowship programs. He took this role so seriously that he continued weekly teaching conferences with residents and students throughout his retirement.

Dr. Fonkalsrud also gave his time as a volunteer surgeon at the Venice Family Clinic. Dr. Fonkalsrud spent his entire professional career at UCLA. He loved the people he worked with and his desire was to leave a lasting legacy at the institution he cared so much about. Establishing the Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery in the UCLA Department of Pediatrics will commemorate the career and honor the achievements of this exceptional physician. This endowment will enable UCLA to recruit and retain the best minds in pediatric surgery and support teaching, research, and service for decades to come. A named endowed chair will support Dr. Fonkalsrud’s outstanding, lifelong commitment to advancing pediatric surgery and education.

The Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery will be invaluable in supporting the mission of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA by ensuring a reliable and steady source of funding. Endowments sustain the university even through tumultuous economic climates, serving as a permanent way to:

■ Provide salary or discretionary funding to retain stellar faculty

■ Ensure opportunities for the pursuit of innovative research that otherwise might not be funded

■ Provide training and education for future generations of world-class physicians and scientists

■ Strengthen UCLA’s competitiveness in achieving federal research funding

■ Accelerate the university’s path to achieving national and international standing in research and clinical care.

The establishment of the Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery will celebrate Dr. Fonkalsrud’s remarkable career and create a meaningful legacy. Please join us in this special endeavor.

The intention of this campaign is to raise additional gifts to establish the Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery.  Establishing a Chair in Dr. Fonkalsrud’s name will commemrorate the career and honor the achievements of this exceptional physician. This Chair will enable UCLA to recruit and retain the best and brightest minds in pediatric surgery and support teaching, research and service for decades to come.  If a minimum of $900,000 in gifts is raised by December 31, 2020, the chair may be converted from a term-appointment chair to a permanent-appointment chair.

PLEDGES & OTHER DONATION INQUIRIES

If you would like to pledge your contribution or have any questions about your gift, please contact Danielle Dietz, Director of Development, at 310-267-4098 or ddietz@mednet.ucla.edu. 

MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS

Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions made by their employees. To find out if your company has a matching gift policy, please visit matchinggifts.com/ucla and search your employer or company name.

If your company is eligible, request a matching gift form from your employer and send it completed and signed with your gift at the below address. We will do the rest. The impact of your gift to UCLA may be doubled or possibly tripled! Some companies also match gifts made by retirees and/or spouses.

CHECKS & MAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Make checks payable to: The UCLA Foundation

Memo line: Fund #64766O

Mail to:

The UCLA Foundation

PO Box 7145

Pasadena, CA 91109-9903

UCLA Foundation Tax ID: 95-2250801 

If you do not wish to receive further fundraising information from UCLA Health Sciences, please either call us at (855) 364-6945 or email us at OptOutUCLAHSD@support.ucla.edu, providing your name, address, phone number, email, and from which department you're requesting to be removed. Please review UCLA and the UCLA Foundation’s Disclosure Statements for Prospective Donors at www.uclafoundation.org/disclosures

The amount approved for distribution annually by UCLA will support the work of the Chair holder, who will be selected in accordance with University Policy and Procedure.  The establishment of this Chair must comply with current Policy and Administrative Guidelines of the University of California with approval by the UCLA Chancellor as recommended by the Academic Senate.  If this remains a term-appointment chair, the incumbent will serve a term of five years and may be reappointed in accordance with University policy. Upon relinquishment of the Chair, the holder is entitled to be referred to as the Eric W. Fonkalsrud, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery, listing dates of incumbency. 

Although the Chair is intended to exist in perpetuity, unforeseen circumstances may alter or remove the subject area from UCLA’s academic plan or it may become impossible or impracticable to administer.  In such an event, the Chancellor is authorized to re-designate the purpose of this endowment, after taking into consideration the designated purposes described in this Gift Agreement.

The UCLA Foundation will manage and invest this gift in accordance with its endowment investment policies.  The total return earned in excess of the amount approved annually for payout will be retained in the endowment principal to protect from the effects of inflation and to allow for growth.  Furthermore, the return of payout to the endowment fund principal is authorized at the discretion of the appropriate campus official when the payout is not needed for purposes of the fund.  In addition, during periods when the Chair is vacant, the appropriate campus official is authorized to utilize the payout amount for purposes closely related to the academic field represented by the Chair.