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UCLA is committed to equity in health care delivery, and philanthropy helps make it a reality. Iris Cantor has been central to that mission for nearly a quarter century, and she just reinforced her role by contributing $10 million to David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA to advance women’s health care, for which she has long been a champion.
Leading by Example
Of the funds, $8 million will support training and education in women’s health care at the medical school, and $2 million will create the Iris Cantor Endowed Chair in Women’s Health, an administrative chair to be held by the director of the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Center, currently Dr. Janet Pregler. To leverage the power of her gift, Cantor challenged the center’s executive advisory board to raise an additional $2 million for the chair. The board’s successful endeavor brought the total endowment to $4 million.
A Comprehensive Commitment
The generous gift continues Cantor’s arc of visionary contributions to women’s health. She previously provided funding for three pioneering centers at UCLA to serve women: the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Center, one of the first comprehensive women’s health centers in the nation; the Iris Cantor Center for Breast Imaging, which also deployed a mobile unit to serve the community; and the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Education and Resource Center, which supports community outreach programs.
Inspiring Women
“Thanks to Iris, generations of women have been empowered to take command of their health and inspired to get involved,” says Dr. Kelsey Martin, dean of the school of medicine. Martin is the first female dean of UCLA’s medical school and among only a handful of women to lead a medical school in the U.S. “This gift is an indelible and lasting tribute to my commitment to healthcare, and, in this instance, to women’s healthcare training, discovery, and healing,” Cantor says.
To recognize Cantor’s philanthropy, UCLA has named the Iris Cantor Auditorium at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where medical students, researchers, and clinicians will be inspired by her vision for decades to come.
To learn more, contact
Lindsey Williams • 310-825-3813
Published March 2019
Donor Iris Cantor, left, and center director Janet Pregler
