In memory of his wife, Charlotte, Fred Hollfelder has promised a $2 million bequest to the Health Center for research into cancer prevention, detection and rehabilitation. His intention was announced during the Health Center's sixth annual Academic Chairs Dinner on May 22.

Charlotte Johnson Hollfelder, a breast cancer survivor, died of an unrelated illness in 1995.

Hollfelder's bequest will establish the Charlotte Johnson Hollfelder Chair in Clinical Oncology.

The Health Center will search for a nationally recognized scholar and clinician to assume administrative, academic, and clinical responsibility for the entire cancer program at the Health Center. The person appointed also will hold a faculty appointment in the School of Medicine.

"Creation of this dedicated chair will help us ensure the highest possible quality for our program," said Peter Deckers, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine. "It will augment the breadth and depth of our clinical and basic science research and help us deliver the highest quality care. That, in turn, will help us attract and inspire the best students and ensure the very future of our academic endeavors."

The endowed chair will not be the first gift to the Health Center from Hollfelder. Within days of his wife's death, he established the Charlotte Johnson Hollfelder Foundation and approached the Health Center about ways to help breast cancer patients.

Since then, the Charlotte Johnson Hollfelder Foundation has supported many breast cancer education and outreach programs at the Health.

Center. In addition, it has provided mammograms for women who otherwise would not have been able to afford them, and established a fund to cover the costs of medicine, transportation and other expenses for needy cancer patients.

"Charlotte was an exceptional person. She cared deeply about others. When she died, I knew I had to keep her memory alive," said Hollfelder. "The endowed chair will promote research efforts that will help many people in the long run. What a wonderful way to memorialize Charlotte."

Hollfelder, who lives in Avon, is former president of the Hardware Division of Emhart Corp. He retired as president of Black and Decker Corp.'s hardware division in 1990.

Maureen McGuire

Maureen McGuire works in the Office of Communications at the Health Center.