Annual Report 2019

President's Note

Dear Readers

As we reflect on 2019, we celebrate another milestone year for the MCG Foundation. If you are reading this, you were a tremendous part of the great work we were able to accomplish for the Medical College of Georgia and Augusta University as a whole. Looking at this past year by the numbers, we thank you and all our donors for allowing us to:

  • Award $2,025,678 in scholarships to deserving students
  • Provide $600,000 to improve and add to the Central Square area for parking to help replace the spaces lost to the new College of Science and Mathematics Building
  • Promise funding of $1,000,000 to the Md/Phd scholarships and the Stoney Scholarship for 2019-20
  • Direct $2,503,336 to support chairs at MCG, Dental, Nursing, and Allied Health.
  • Create 20 new funds, totaling $2,457,905 in gifts to the foundation

Real estate continues to be a focus for the foundation as we explore opportunities to optimize our properties, including the Central Square shopping center donated by the late George Weiss. This year, we converted the property temporarily to parking spaces for Augusta University, with long-term plans to develop this land into a gateway for the university and medical district.

Lastly, we marked one year in our new offices at Sutherland Mill and continue to enjoy a strong relationship with our neighbors at the Community Foundation for the CSRA.

I believe the hard work we are undertaking today will be reflected in the value of every future MCG diploma, and in the loyalty of each future alumnus. Our efforts also reflect the dedication and hard work of those who laid the groundwork for our success by establishing the Medical College of Georgia Foundation more than 65 years ago. What a shining testament our progress is to their vision!

It has been a profound honor to oversee this initiative the past two years, and I look forward to our future growth. The sky is the limit!

MCG

Dr. Lois T. Ellison: A Force of Nature

“You know how they say, ‘If Mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy?’” her eldest son recalls. “We never had to worry about that. Mama was always rosy.”

Lois Ellison used to bristle as a little girl when well-meaning adults would try to correct her response to the question they often asked:

“You mean ‘nurse,’” they would gently prompt when she told them what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“No,” she would boldly reply, repeating her original answer: “I want to be a doctor.”

Dr. Lois Taylor Ellison, who served on the Medical College of Georgia faculty from 1951 until her death at age 95 in 2019, knew many things beyond a shadow of a doubt, even in the most tender of years: She knew that whatever she pursued, she intended to try her very best. She knew she would do whatever it took to achieve her goals. And yes, she knew she would one day be a physician.

Her grandfather was a pharmacist in their small town of Fort Valley, Georgia, and she grew up watching him dispense prescriptions and medical advice whenever needed, never refusing middle-of-the-night requests for assistance. She yearned to follow in his footsteps.

Her determination revealed itself in other areas of her life as well. She excelled in academics, tennis, basketball, and virtually any other endeavor she pursued.

After high school, she sailed through the undergraduate curriculum at the University of Georgia in less than three years, supplementing her studies with extracurriculars including a role on the college newspaper, the Red and Black. Ever outspoken, particularly in the name of justice, she penned an editorial expressing outrage that while World War II soldiers were risking their lives for their country, they were ineligible for admission to Georgia’s flagship university if their skin happened to be black. A threat of expulsion briefly loomed, but Ellison, without compromising her principles, managed to smooth things over and make it to the finish line.

Now, at last, she was prepared to begin the challenge she dreamed of all her life. She enrolled in the Medical College of Georgia as one of four female students in a class of 78, never batting an eye about her distinctly minority status. She made herself comfortable in plenty of challenging environments over the years, and no amount of societal opprobrium could slow her momentum.

A health threat, however, could.

After completing three years of medical school (and falling in love with a resident, Robert G. Ellison, along the way), Ellison contracted tuberculosis. The timing was particularly devastating. She was a newlywed, having married the love of her life in 1945. Now, not only was her family life and medical degree put on hold — assuming she survived — but the antibiotic cure for the bacterial disease had not quite yet come to pass. Ellison would spend almost four years in treatment, often quarantined.

But the disease proved no match for Ellison’s resilience. She survived, and when finally given a clean bill of health, she quickly made up for lost time. She finished her degree, then joined the MCG faculty after completing a cardiopulmonary physiology fellowship. She helped develop MCG’s cardiopulmonary laboratory, working closely with her husband, a cardiovascular surgeon, to pioneer studies in open-heart surgery and cardiovascular and pulmonary physiology.

But her busy career didn’t deter her dream of starting a family. She and her husband had five sons in quick succession, three of whom are MCG graduates.

“To us, she was always just Mama,” says her eldest son, Dr. Robert G. Ellison Jr., who practices vascular surgery in Jacksonville, Florida. “When she walked through the door after work, it was all about us. She had five of us — boys! — and I’m sure that was hard. But she made it look easy. I recall occasionally getting up in the middle of the night for a glass of water and seeing her at the kitchen table with steaming-hot coffee and papers all over, working away. She’d say, ‘I just have a few things to finish up here, sweetheart.’ I was always amazed at her energy.”

In 1974, her career moved into administration with her new post as MCG’s associate dean for curriculum. A year later, she was named university provost, second in line to then-President William Moretz, making her the highest-ranking female in U.S. medical schools. As MCG’s physical plant grew, she oversaw the expansion of clinical facilities as associate vice president for planning (hospitals and clinics). Campus additions during her tenure included the Ambulatory Care Center/Specialized Care Center and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.

Ellison retired as Professor Emeritus and Provost Emeritus in 2000, but stayed on as MCG’s Medical Historian in Residence. She meticulously gathered and chronicled materials about the university’s heritage, including writing the publication “Moments in History” in observance of MCG’s 175th anniversary.

Her voluminous professional accolades included serving as president of the American Lung Association, which in 1998 awarded her the Will Ross Medal, and serving as the MCG Foundation’s first female president in 1988-89. She and her husband (who retired from MCG in 1987 as Charbonnier Professor of Surgery Emeritus and and Chief of the Section of Thoracic Surgery Emeritus before dying in 2006) together received MCG’s highest honor, the Vessel of Life Award.
But despite her astonishing resume, her eldest son recalls there was not a pretentious bone in her body. “She had respect for everybody,” he says. “I remember a man at MCG whose duties included changing lightbulbs, and she used to rave that he was the best lightbulb changer in all of Augusta.”

Their family, he says, lived simply. “We used to go to the beach once a year, never flying — just driving. These days, folks take vacations all the time, but there was none of that in our family. I also remember her painting my youngest brother’s bedroom pink before he was born, hoping finally for a girl. When my brother came along, she didn’t think there was any sense in repainting a room with a fresh coat of paint. It stayed pink for years.”

Tears were in ample supply at her funeral, but so were smiles. Her sons, their wives and their children all had stories to share of a woman who was a veritable force of nature — yet decidedly down to earth.

Wrote MCG Dean David Hess shortly after her death, “It is hard to imagine MCG without Dr. Lois T. Ellison . . . [but] she will always be here in the medical students who come to us eager to learn, in the physicians who graduate ready for any career in medicine, in the scientists who won’t take no for an answer, in the privilege it is to be Georgia’s public medical school.”

Gifts for Fiscal Year

2019 Total Donors

2019 Total Gifts

$

2019 Total Value

2018 Total Donors

2018 Total Gifts

$

2018 Total Value

Fiscal Year 2019 Market Overview:

Publicly traded global equities were very volatile during the past Fiscal Year with a dramatic drop in the fourth quarter of 2018 caused by worries of a global growth slowdown and rising U.S. rates. This was followed by a very strong rebound in performance in the first half of 2019 as the U.S Federal Reserve reversed course to begin easing, and as a result global growth expectations ticked up. In the U.S., growth stocks continued to outperform their value counterparts, led by a handful of tech-oriented companies. International markets, both developed and emerging, hit headwinds with the continuation of global tariffs, a strong U.S. dollar, diverging central bank policies, and Brexit uncertainties.

For the Fiscal Year, bonds delivered equity like returns as Treasury Yields declined and credit spreads narrowed. After raising interest rates four times in the last eighteen months, the Fed signaled a lower target range for the federal funds rate citing concerns about the global economic outlook and the impact of the trade tensions. Overseas, the European Central Bank indicated that it would adopt monetary policies to combat the rising threat of recession in Europe.

Looking ahead, weaker economic data, geopolitical risk, and the potential for a monetary policy misstep persist on a global scale. We believe portfolio diversification is the best hedge against the upcoming variability, underscoring the importance of a strategic allocation across asset classes.

Performance Over
Time

The Medical College of Georgia Foundation’s (the “Foundation”) Total Fund returned 3.15% and grew to $248.70 million in fiscal year 2019. Over the past 10 fiscal years, the Foundation has grown approximately $157.0 million from its $91.7 million market value at June 30, 2009.

The portfolio is designed to outperform its benchmark over the long-term, and is expected to demonstrate short-term tracking error to indices.

With annual net investment returns of 5.3% since July 1998, the Foundation has performed in line with its stated Policy Index.

Endowment
Value

Asset Allocation:

On July 31, 2018, the Investment Committee approved a new investment policy and strategic asset allocation designed to meet the Endowment’s long-term investment objectives. The new policy is rooted in the guiding principles of Endowment-style investing which emphasizes asset class and manager diversification, a long-term investment horizon, an integrated approach to liquidity and risk management, and exposure to alternative asset classes. As a result of the new policy, we began the process of methodically building exposure to private asset classes in FY2019. We expect it will take five to seven years for this exposure to reach full allocation.

The new asset allocation was constructed to meet three core portfolio needs:

  • Equity Growth – obtain long-term positive returns through equity exposure
  • Downside Mitigation – mitigate downside risk through fixed income and absolute return oriented hedge fund diversification
  • Inflation Protection – protect against inflation with the ownership of real assets

Within each of these roles, the Endowment’s portfolio will invest across multiple asset classes to achieve diversification and reach its risk and return targets.

Cyclists Gear Up for Paceline 2020

Joshua Duffy had several goals in mind when he strapped on a bicycle helmet last year for a good cause.

For one thing, the Minnesota native was eager to make new friends and immerse himself in the Augusta community, where he had recently relocated. For another, he wanted to stay involved in the form of exercise he finds most enjoyable. “I’m not an overly physical person,” he says, “but cycling is the one physical thing that stays fun even when it gets hard.”

But Duffy’s highest priority was honoring his grandfather, who died of cancer.

Paceline enabled him to check all these boxes — and so many more. Paceline, an annual bikeathon inaugurated last spring to benefit the Augusta University Georgia Cancer Center, is modeled on the race, Pelotonia, welcoming cyclists of all experience levels as they chart routes of varying lengths on Augusta-area roads. Cyclists travel in a line close behind the other to conserve energy by riding in the draft of the riders in front, enabling the group to travel faster than any in the group could do alone. The Medical College of Georgia Foundation brought the event to life with a $1.5 million donation.

“I think the event is the perfect metaphor for what we’re trying to achieve,” says Ian Mercier, president of Augusta University’s foundations. “In cycling races, certain individuals will inevitably break away from the pack, but the ones who work as a team are able to draft each other, reducing wind resistance and easing the burden for everybody.”

The inaugural bike ride was a shining success, with hundreds of cyclists raising thousands of dollars for the Georgia Cancer Center through their participation. The second ride, scheduled May 29-30, 2020, promises to be even bigger, largely due to

testimonials such as Duffy’s. “Cancer is so much more treatable now (than when my grandfather was battling the disease),” he says, “so supporting cancer research digs deep.”

Martyn Jones, president of Paceline, couldn’t agree more. He also shares Duffy’s enthusiasm for the great versatility of cycling. “Since I was a boy, cycling has been a big part of my life,” says Jones. “I think of bicycles as a force for good . . . a timeless means of transportation, making new friends, discovering new places and practicing a healthier lifestyle. Paceline is, by its very nature, encouraging people from all parts of the community to do something meaningful through riding a bike. Together we can cure cancer faster.”

Caryn Bird, an AU graduate research assistant, had biked only casually in her youth, but fished her old bike out of storage to participate in the 20-mile route last year. “Everybody getting behind this ride inspired me to join as well,” she says. “The support from people on the [Support and Gear team] was awesome. They would encourage me to keep going, or if I needed a break to sit in the van for a while until I was ready to get back out and keep going.”

She rode in honor of patients at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia receiving immunotherapy, her area of expertise, and kept their pictures on her handlebars. “They were my inspiration to keep going,” she says.

Dr. Huidong Shi, a researcher at the Georgia Cancer Center, also was a cycling novice when he signed on for the 20-mile route last year. “It was a little challenging, because I never rode 20 miles before this ride. In the beginning, I was a little bit worried — I didn’t do a lot of exercise before — but it turned out to be a pretty comfortable ride for 20 miles. The route is really nice, beautiful scenery. Hopefully in the future, I will be able to ride [the 45-mile route].”
Routes of 25, 45 and 100 miles are included, and “virtual riders” simply focus on fundraising. The May 29

opening ceremony Friday evening on Augusta University’s Summerville Campus will include food, drinks, cancer-fighting stories and live entertainment. The ride begins at 7 a.m. Saturday, May 30, on the Summerville Campus, with a route encompassing some of the most beautiful parts of Georgia. A point-to-point structure allows a linear track of the event enabling extensive community involvement. The 100-mile ride circles outside of Thomson, Georgia and ends in downtown Thomson. Each finish venue will include a celebration with food, drinks and live entertainment.
Rest stops will be included every 10 to 20 miles.

Riders commit to raising at least $300-$600, depending on the length of their route. (The fund-raising minimum is $250 for those age 14 to 25 as well as all AU staff and students.) The registration fee for all routes is $100 for general riders before March 29 and $130 thereafter. Donations are fully tax-deductible.

“I can’t stress highly enough what a fun, invigorating and unifying experience this is. This is an event the participants will remember the rest of their lives, and judging by the number of inaugural cyclists expressing interest in Paceline 2020, it’s clearly one they want to
re-experience..” Jones says.

For more information or to participate in Paceline 2020, visit pacelineride.org.

2019

THANK YOU