Alumnus analyses his legacy

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Tags: Health Sciences, medicine, philanthropy, summer-2010

Dr Ron Thomson with second-year medical students Damien Hewitt and Gemma Benecke at the new Intergrated Pathology Learning Centre at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital

University of Queensland medical alumnus Dr Ron Thomson has decided to say thank you for his education in a big way – with a $10 million bequest.

Dr Thomson, who graduated in 1956, is a former surgeon and now practising medico-legal consultant, who spent most of his working life in Sydney.

During 2008–2010, he visited his alma mater to decide where his substantial gift should be directed.

“Without my medical degree and all of what followed as a result, I wouldn’t have been in a position to give something back to the University in recognition of what it gave me, which was the opportunity to obtain that degree,” he said.

An investment portfolio, estimated at $10 million, has been set aside in Dr Thomson’s will.

The gift will be invested in a range of UQ projects which will benefit from its annual interest of approximately $400,000 to $500,000.

Dr Thomson’s bequest will also honour his mother, Pauline, and will be split between research at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research and teaching in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, in the School of Medicine.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield compared the gift to that of the Mayne family – key figures in the establishment of UQ.

“Dr Thomson and his late mother, Pauline, are modern-day Maynes – as in Dr James and Mary Emelia Mayne, whose generosity in the 1920s and 30s continues giving to UQ, particularly in medical teaching and research.

“He calls himself an ‘ordinary’ person but I disagree. He is undoubtedly extraordinary and the University will still be celebrating his life in 2110 – our bicentenary,” Professor Greenfield said.

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Nick Fisk said the bequest highlighted the importance of links with alumni.

“Dr Thomson’s bequest reflects the strength of the lifelong bond many graduates have with their medical school. We are profoundly grateful to Ron for his gift, which emphasises the pivotal importance of alumni to Australia’s leading universities competing with the world’s best,” Professor Fisk said.

Dr Thomson has a particular interest in pathology, describing it as “the rock on which everything is subsequently built in the pyramid of medicine”.

The income from his bequest will support a new Integrated Pathology Learning Centre – an exciting, interactive facility for health students.

But the energetic 78-year-old, who remarried last year, has no intention of making his generous bequest anytime soon.

He visited UQ in March to view the pathology facility and meet with staff and students.

The $1.5 million Integrated Pathology Learning Centre, which opened in April, brings together the extensive James Vincent Duhig Pathology Museum, including more than 2500 specimens, artefacts from the Marks-Hirschfield Medical History Collection, the Nursing Museum and the latest electronic teaching resources.

UQ Professor of Pathology Sunil Lakhani said the size and presentation of the collection in a modern facility was a unique development for Australia and comparable with leading facilities of its kind around the world.

“The collection has grown over many years, probably as long as UQ has had a medical program, which is more than 70 years. It has played a critical role in the education of UQ medical students, staff and allied health workers during this time,” Professor Lakhani said.

“This is a unique and unprecedented venture as most medical schools in the world are shutting their facilities, but at UQ there is a strong commitment to pathology.”

The centre integrates historical, clinical, radiological and pathological processes.

It takes students on a journey from past to present and from cells to patients, so they can gain a complete understanding of disease.

The development of the facility was supported by financial donations of more than $135,000 – many from medical school alumni.

The centre was officially opened by Dr Thomson and coincided with the opening of the Health Sciences Building, in which the pathology centre is housed.

The Health Sciences Building is located in the heart of the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital campus and is an education facility for health students from a range of disciplines.

Formerly named the Clinical Sciences Building, it has undergone a $27.8 million refurbishment and now includes state-of-the-art teaching rooms, mock hospital wards and clinical bedside coaching rooms.

Other features of the Integrated Pathology Learning Centre include interactive stations to test students on clinical-radiological-pathological correlations, stations for video feeds and audiovisual presentations on topics such as global aspects of immunisation, the history of medicine, and malnutrition and disease.

By Marlene McKendry

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