Newswise — MAYWOOD, IL – The Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine 66th Annual Awards Dinner will be held on Saturday, November 19 at the Hilton Chicago. The longest-running black tie gala in Chicago, the Stritch Dinner has raised millions of dollars for medical education scholarships since 1950. Scholarships provide critical financial support to attract the best and brightest who would otherwise be unable to attend Stritch School of Medicine. “Armed with the highest-quality medical training and collaboration on leading-edge research, Stritch graduates are prepared to make a difference for their patients and society as a whole,” said Linda Brubaker, MD, MS, dean and chief diversity officer, Stritch School of Medicine. “Crucial to that mission is providing financial support to guarantee a diverse student body that strives for excellence and leads with a compassionate spirit.” At the event, the Stritch Medal of Honor—the school’s highest honor—will be presented to Patrick J. Stiff, MD, a Stritch alumnus, Coleman Professor of Oncology, and medical director of the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center at Loyola University Medical Center. His current main research areas are umbilical cord blood transplantation, ex-vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem cells, and cancer vaccines for ovarian cancer. He has written more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed publications.
“It is an incredible honor to receive the Stritch Medal this year,” Dr. Stiff said. “While my name is on the medal, I wish to share this honor with my family without whom this award would not have been possible. I also accept it on behalf of the faculty and staff of the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center who each day singly and collectively hold our patients and their families as their number one priority.” The event is co-chaired by attorney Rick Hammond, a partner at HeplerBroom, LLC, and his wife, Donna. The son of a skycap and the first member of his family to earn a college degree, Mr. Hammond said he and his wife want to “leave the world a better place.” “One of those students may find the cure to a terrible disease,” Mr. Hammond said. “You don’t know the impact your dollars will have and you can only hope the seed money we plant makes a positive impact on the world.” The Rev. John J. (Jack) O’Callaghan, S.J., will also be honored at the event for a lifetime of service. Father Jack most recently served as assistant to the dean for Ignatian Spirituality. “The mission of Stritch is to not just educate people to be physicians but to form them to be physicians,” Father Jack said. “Education is head, formation is heart. We try to help young people become more and more the physician they want to be, but also the human being they want to be.” The Stritch Junior Service League, a select group of high school students who uphold a tradition of community service, will also be recognized for their volunteer activities over the summer. The 16 students from Benet, Fenwick, Hinsdale Central, Loyola Academy, Nazareth, and St. Ignatius participated in projects at Misericordia, St. Thomas of Canterbury Soup Kitchen, Housing Forward, The British Home/Cantata, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Attendees will enjoy a cocktail reception, dinner, and dancing. WBBM-Ch. 2 reporter Derrick Blakley will serve as the emcee. Individual tickets are $650 each; table sponsorships start at $6,500. Visit LUC.edu/stritchdinner to purchase tickets.
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