February 3, 2006
Campaign for Purdue passes original $1.3 billion goal; gift for veterinary school's radiation unit announced
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University President Martin C. Jischke today (Friday, Feb. 3) announced the seven-year Campaign for Purdue has exceeded its original $1.3 billion goal. The target was increased this past fall, based on the pace of incoming gifts, to $1.5 billion.
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The $1.4 million building, which cost another $500,000 to equip, will be named the Linda and William Fleischhauer Radiation Therapy Facility in Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine. The Fleischhauers, of Lafayette and Naples, Fla., have been in the student housing business in West Lafayette for 30 years. They also own a home and commercial construction business in Florida.
"When we started this campaign, we didn't know how much we could raise, but we put our faith in the Purdue family," Jischke said. "Obviously, our faith was well-placed."
The Fleischhauer gift is one example.
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Elikplimi Asem (pronounced E-leep-k-plee-me Ah-seem), interim dean of the veterinary school, said that naming the facility is the culmination of many years' preparation.
"Alan Rebar started work on this project when he became dean more than 10 years ago," Asem said. "Now we are setting up the equipment and hiring qualified technicians. We hope to schedule the first patient by the end of the semester."
Rebar is the newly named executive director of Purdue's Discovery Park. He met the Fleischhauers through mutual acquaintances, Gary and Esther Wolfelt, of Lafayette, who had a dog that was sick with cancer and had to travel to Illinois for radiation therapy.
The Fleischhauers came into contact with the School of Veterinary Medicine before that through Lafayette veterinarian and Purdue graduate John Pickett, from the VCA Lafayette Animal Hospital. The Fleischhauers said they travel great distances to make sure their two Maltese dogs are cared for by Pickett, but when they can't come to Lafayette, they seek out veterinarian alumni from Purdue.
Bill Fleischhauer earned an associate's degree in 1967 and a bachelor's degree from Purdue's School of Technology in 1969. The Fleischhauers are longtime pet owners, animal lovers and clients of Purdue's veterinary hospital.
"Linda and I felt this is a good time in our life to try to make a difference," Bill Fleischhauer said. "Through this gift, we can express our appreciation to the community, to Purdue and to Purdue students — all of whom play major roles in the success of our business."
The radiation facility is being funded by a combination of other gifts and university funds. Dolores McCall, an independent oil and gas investor from Midland, Texas, whose cats benefited from the care of a Purdue alumnus, is giving the school a $1 million deferred gift to support research on cancer and other diseases in small animals. An additional $1 million cash gift from McCall will fund a professorship for a radiation oncologist to work in the new facility.
The facility adds a critical mode of cancer treatment to Purdue's resources in the field of comparative oncology, which is the study and treatment of cancer in pet animals. The radiation therapy unit allows Purdue researchers to conduct combination therapy, joining radiation therapy with other therapies for the treatment of a number of cancers. Indiana veterinarians, as well as those in adjoining states, now can refer cancer patients to Purdue.
The heart of the radiation facility, the linear accelerator, was delivered to the new center in December. The equipment, which is a refurbished machine previously used for humans, targets cancerous tissue with therapeutic levels of highly focused radiation. The vault that contains the linear accelerator has walls between 6 inches and 18 inches thick in order to form an adequate radiation shield around the treatment area.
The facility also will have an animal holding area for up to nine small animals, primarily dogs and cats; a control area where veterinarians and veterinary technicians manage the operation of the machine; an induction-treatment area to prepare animals for the procedure; a film-developing room; and a planning room in which computer models will be built to plan the treatment that will deliver dosages as accurately and rapidly as possible.
Purdue veterinarians see about 1,600 dogs and cats with cancer per year. Most recently, an average of 75 of those patients per year have been referred to out-of-state radiation therapy facilities. Veterinary Hospital director Mimi Arighi said she expects to treat approximately 140 animals per year at the new facility.
"Due to improved diagnostic tools, it is getting easier to diagnose cancer in animals, so we're seeing more cancer cases," Arighi said. "Also, pets are living longer, and people seem to be more willing to spend the money on treatment for their animals."
The 2,300-square-foot radiation therapy facility, designed by the Scholer Corp. of Lafayette, is an addition to Lynn Hall. Construction was completed in December.
Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu
Sources: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708, mcjischke@purdue.edu
Elikplimi Asem, (765) 494-6447, asem@purdue.edu
Alan Rebar, (765) 494-7608, rebar@purdue.edu
Mimi Arighi, (765) 494-7235, arighi@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
IMAGE CAPTION:
An architect's rendering shows a cutaway of Purdue's Linda and William Fleischhauer Radiation Therapy Facility in the School of Veterinary Medicine. The drawing shows the linear accelerator (at right), which is a machine that targets cancerous tissue with therapeutic levels of highly focused radiation. The left side of the drawing shows an induction-treatment area to prepare animals for the procedure. (Image provided by Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine)
A publication-quality graphic is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2006/vet-radiation.jpg
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