This sentiment clearly resonates with James L. Peacock, MD, FACS, a retired surgical oncologist, master educator, and philanthropist who has taken this concept one step further. After dedicating his entire career to the education of students and residents at the University of Rochester (UR) in New York, he now has ensured they have the opportunity to attend the ACS Clinical Congress in perpetuity. He has endowed a visionary gift fund to support every UR chief resident’s attendance at the meeting. According to Dr. Peacock, providing this fund has been an annual highlight of his illustrious career. In fact, he credits attending Clinical Congress with much of his own professional development, love of surgery, and the maintenance of lifelong friendships.
Following his surgical residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and a surgical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Peacock was recruited to the University of Rochester by the late Seymour I. Schwartz, MD, FACS, whom he first met in 1988 at the ACS Clinical Congress in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Peacock remained at UR for his entire career, during which he was honored with seven teaching awards and served as program director of the general surgery residency program for 8 years. Since his retirement from clinical practice, he has remained an integral contributor to the education and quality assurance programs at UR and continues to attend Clinical Congress regularly.
Of the numerous influences over his storied career, among the most formative has been his membership and participation in the ACS. In particular, many of the important conversations of his career took place at Clinical Congress, including an initial meeting with Dr. Schwartz, who went on to serve as the ACS President in 1997. Clinical Congress was the vehicle through which many of the relationships which he most valued were built or strengthened. Dr. Peacock estimates that he has attended nearly 40 Clinical Congresses since 1984.
Upon his retirement, Dr. Peacock felt compelled to ensure that all future residents at his beloved UR program would enjoy similar exposure to the educational and networking opportunities that he cherishes. The idea germinated at a UR dinner held during a Clinical Congress meeting shortly after his retirement, when he and his wife, Lisa, were particularly moved by the camaraderie and reflections of medical students and residents in attendance. At the dinner, they came up with the idea to endow a fund supporting the attendance of UR chief residents at Clinical Congress.
Predictably, the response from residents and colleagues has been glowing. “Attending Clinical Congress was an excellent networking opportunity to meet past faculty and graduates, surgeons from across town, and colleagues of current faculty members. I was able to experience firsthand just how vast the University of Rochester’s reach is. Dr. Peacock’s gift will forever be appreciated as it was an opportunity to see the true impact of academic medicine and see our co-residents present their hard work on a national stage,” said Kaci Schiavone, MD, who graduated from UR in 2023.
David C. Linehan, MD, FACS, the Seymour I. Schwartz Chairman of the UR Department of Surgery, commented: “I am most grateful to Jim and Lisa Peacock for their generous endowment gift that will support our residents in perpetuity. I see no better way to honor Jim’s decades-long legacy as a master educator at the University of Rochester.”
Like many of the ACS Fellows, Dr. Peacock greatly values the College, its mission, and the lasting impact that fellowship has on one’s career. His gift demonstrates the value he places on education, the high esteem in which he holds the ACS, and the importance of the annual Clinical Congress. His gift allows every surgical chief resident from UR the opportunity to experience the College at its finest.
If you have been inspired by Dr. Peacock’s generosity and would like to similarly impress the value of continued education and the College on the next generation of Fellows, consider making a gift to the ACS Foundation. The creation of an endowment will ensure residents from your institution, across the country, or from around the world, can attend Clinical Congress and reap the same benefits that you have.
Establishing an endowment to benefit the ACS Foundation is one of the most powerful ways for your philanthropy to have a lasting impact. An endowment gift is given with the intention to preserve the original value of the gift and for it to grow over time. Funds are held in perpetuity and invested with the accumulated appreciation and income from the investment providing an annual distribution. The annual distribution is spent in accordance with the donor’s wishes—in this case, resident education and career building through attendance at Clinical Congress.
For more information on creating an endowment or making a transformational gift to the ACS, contact the Foundation at 312-202-5338, or acsfoundation@facs.org.
