Edwin and Mary Meader played leading role in growth of Eye Center
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Like the support Edwin and Mary Meader offered during their lifetimes, a bequest realized this year from the Edwin E. Meader estate was quiet but profound. The allocation in his will was a simple indication that a percentage of his trust should be used for the benefit of the Kellogg Eye Center, but the gift's impact will be broad and significant.
"We are very grateful for Mr. Meader's bequest, which will be used to build new laboratories, to purchase important equipment for our researchers and clinicians, to launch new initiatives, and more," says Paul R. Lichter, M.D., F. Bruce Fralick Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. "This support will help us begin to realize the full potential of our new building and will set the stage for years of continued scientific discovery."
Mr. Meader (1909-2007), a military intelligence professional with a passion for archaeology and geography, and Mrs. Meader (1916-2008), an adventurer who took the first aerial photos of Africa and the granddaughter of William E. Upjohn, had a strong commitment to helping others. As stewards of the Upjohn legacy, they sought opportunities to make a difference. When they recognized a need for funds to expand the vision research program at the University of Michigan, they responded.
Their gifts were made at key points in the growth of the program. They established the Paul R. Lichter Professorship in Ophthalmic Genetics in 1990 as the research program was expanding. The professorship initially supported the work of Dr. Paul A. Sieving, who is currently Director of the National Eye Institute. It then helped recruit Dr. John R. Heckenlively, one of the top specialists in inherited retinal diseases, who holds the professorship today. The couple also created the Edwin E. and Mary U. Meader Vision Research Fund in 1993 to help fund faculty projects.
Dr. Sieving worked with other vision scientists in the Department, for example, to identify specific eye disease genes in nearly 30 different families. "We began by identifying individual patients who had medical conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt's juvenile macular degeneration and then studied their families in Michigan and across the country," Dr. Sieving explains.
"Clearly genes are a major determinant of our medical destinies, and finding a gene is something that stands for all time," he says. "That's what the Meaders' endowments made possible. This work is now the basis for developing strategies to treat patients, including gene therapy. The Meaders' contributions are benefiting many people."
When it became clear to Mr. and Mrs. Meader that the program they had nourished could do even more, they gave a major gift to launch the Kellogg Eye Center's current building campaign. To celebrate their commitment to vision, they agreed to allow the University to name the lobby of the new building in honor of Mrs. Meader and her grandmother. The lobby will bear the name Mrs. Meader shared with her grandmother: Rachel Mary Upjohn.
"The confidence Mr. and Mrs. Meader displayed in us allowed our research program to flourish," Dr. Lichter says. "It is a wonderful time to celebrate all that has been accomplished and the advancements that will continue to be made through their goodness and generosity."
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