Alvin and Ruth Siteman of St. Louis have given $35 million to help the Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital build a cancer center to support research, patient care and services, education and community outreach.

The gift includes a previous $10 million gift made to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 1997. The new facility will be named the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center.

The gift represents the largest private gift received by either organization. The pledge also will help the center's efforts to become a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital President Ronald G. Evens, M.D., said the gift will help both the hospital and the school "remain at the forefront of leading treatments and groundbreaking research in cancer care."

Alvin J. Siteman is president of the Siteman Organization and is a former chairman of Mark Twain Bancshares Inc., which merged with Mercantile Bancorp in 1997. He also is chairman and president of the Site Oil Co. of Missouri and Flash Oil Corp. He is current chairman of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation and is a member of the hospital's board of directors.

In addition to this recent gift, the Sitemans established a cancer endowment fund and endowed chair in oncology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 1997. The hospital also honored Alvin's father in 1985 by establishing the Phillip L. Siteman Professorship in Marketing at the John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University.

Ruth Siteman received her bachelor's degree from Washington University's University College in 1975.

Full text of the article is currently found at:
http://medicine.wustl.edu/~wumpa/news/
siteman/siteman.html