At Carver Trust, it’s all about investing in Iowa

In sixth grade, a teacher at Sequan Gatlin's middle school in Davenport talked to the 'academically inclined' student about options in life 'other than just what we were shown in my neighborhood.'

It made him want to explore beyond the bounds of his hometown.

'I felt like college was an opportunity to do that — to learn a little bit more and to put myself in a different environment that would help me get better,' said Gatlin, now 21.

But his family had no money for tuition, living check to check and sometimes getting government benefits.

Advisers in high school gave him the road map for a scholarship to Iowa State University, which he worked hard to follow — earning good grades and national awards for his writing and work as editor of his student newspaper.

But even with his tuition covered, Gatlin needed help from more scholarships and a Pell Grant. Two years into being a Cyclone, he came across the Roy J. Carver Scholars Program.

'This scholarship was a big thing for me,' said Gatlin, who is on track to become the first person in his family to graduate from college. 'It definitely made my last two years possible.'

Troy Ross, executive administrator of the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust that administers the Carver Scholars Program, said those types of stories make the trust's scholarship endeavor its flagship program.

'The trust takes great pride in the Carver statewide scholarship program because, contrary to how investments in basic science research might be considered, the scholarship program has a direct and immediate impact on students' lives,' Ross said.

The trust doesn't necessarily expect the same immediate gratification from its large contributions to science and medicine across Iowa, for which it has become widely known.

Still, Iowa Board of Regents and University of Iowa officials recently heralded the trust's unprecedented contributions as making an 'indelible impact' and pushing forward an 'era of scientific innovation.'

'LONG CHERISHED AIM'

Muscatine philanthropist Carver and wife Lucille — largely through the trust established in his name after he died in 1981 — are the largest donors in UI history, supporting a range of students, research and academic endeavors.

A recent gift of $45 million for a new Iowa Neuroscience Institute in the UI Carver College of Medicine grew the Carvers' total UI giving to more than $195 million. It also marked the largest single gift in the UI Foundation's recent fundraising campaign, which has brought in $1.85 billion so far.

And the trust doesn't just support the UI. Over the past decade, it has given about $47 million to higher education across the state and in Illinois — ranging from individual scholarships to a $2.5 million gift toward Augustana College's science building expansion.

That total doesn't include the trust's decades of giving to the UI College of Medicine, which bears the Carver name. Starting with a $2 million gift for a professorship of internal medicine chair in 1986 — even before the trust's grant-making activities officially began — the trust has gone on to give a total of $132.3 million to the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

A University of Illinois alumnus, Roy Carver never attended any of Iowa's higher education institutions but made his millions in Muscatine, where he founded the Bandag Company, a global corporation that makes tire-retreading material and has more than 1,700 dealers.

He long had a passion for research and education, and Carver once aspired to a medical career himself, according to Ross. But that was in the Depression era.

'The economic climate did not permit him to pursue that dream of attending medical school,' Ross said. 'But I've heard stories from people who knew him that he really did have an interest in the College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.'

In fact, according to Ross, the only potential beneficiary specifically mentioned in Carver's will was the UI College of Medicine. But he also wrote, in a broad sense, about his interest in education and science. And Ross said the trust's mission statement is a quote from Carver's will.

'Mindful of all that I have received from society, it has been my long cherished aim to devote a significant portion of my estate to charitable, educational and scientific purposes,' Carver wrote.

'IT MAY TAKE A GENERATION'

The trust — one of Iowa's largest private philanthropic foundations today — has distributed nearly $330 million in some 2,100 individual grants since launching its grant-making activities in 1987.

In deciding which projects to back, according to Ross, the board typically considers less-established researchers who show great promise.

'We try to be very strategic in how we apply funding,' he said. 'We kind of look for opportunities to jump start the careers of promising young investigators.'

When it comes to technical applications, Ross said, the trust does its homework, seeking counsel from a network of peers esteemed in the relevant fields of science.

'Based on the feedback that we receive,' he said, 'we can make recommendations to our board of trustees for a final decision on funding.'

The board also considers whether applicants and the research they're investigating have buy-in at the department, college or even university level. That, Ross said, was one of the factors that persuaded the trust last month to commit $45 million to the Iowa Neuroscience Institute.

Jean Robillard, vice president for medical affairs of UI Health Care and dean of the Carver College of Medicine, provided evidence that the science and the institute were priorities in the recent hiring of internationally-known neuroscientist Ted Abel to direct the enterprise.

'We want to avoid the situations where we feel like we're going it alone,' Ross said.

Neuroscience, he said, is particularly intriguing for its broad scope and potential to advance knowledge. But, Ross added, the trust tries to remain realistic about the impacts of its giving.

'We understand that funding this type of thing — where we're funding basic scientific research — is not likely to yield breakthroughs immediately,' he said. 'We understand that science advances incrementally … It may take a generation or longer.'

Although its scholars program often produces more immediate results, the trust's foundational patience and persistence drives that as well.

'It focuses on a special population of college students,' Ross said. 'These are students who have demonstrated an ability to overcome significant obstacles in their lives because they have a goal, and that's to achieve a good education.

'The trustees liken this to the way young Roy Carver did, in that he kind of pulled himself up by his own bootstraps and achieved his education goals.'

l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com