INVESTING IN STUDENT EXPERIENCES: Alan Kozak ’65, ’69M (MD); John Storz ’74 and Del Baker-Robertson; and Jane Tuttle, PhD, ’79N, ’84N (MS) share their stories. Six Strategies for meeting family, financial, and charitable objectives
Congratulations on celebrating a milestone reunion at the University of Rochester! For generations, the University of Rochester has benefited from the generosity of alumni who invest their time, financial resources, and talents in support of its mission to provide world-class teaching, research, and a rich learning environment for Rochester students. The reasons for planning a legacy gift are different for each person: to express gratitude for an excellent education; to ensure that new generations of students have access to world-class faculty and extraordinary experiences; to honor the memory of a loved one; to sustain and grow programs, cutting-edge research, or construct the finest facilities. Regardless of the reason, your thoughtful gift plan can provide a fulfilling personal legacy, help pave the way for an even brighter future at the University, and potentially provide benefits for you and your family members. Throughout this brochure, you will find a number of ways that can help you make an enormous difference. To learn more about your class gift campaign, visit: uofr.us/reuniongiving
ALAN KOZAK When Alan James Kozak ’65, ’69M (MD), ’72M (Res), arrived at the University of Rochester as a college student, he had never spent a day away from home. Quickly his universe expanded through friendship and the heavy demands of his coursework—balancing literature with his pre-medical studies. He recalls the late-night sounds of typewriters in response to looming deadlines and the party music that spanned from Chubby Checkers to The Beatles. It was at a concert, listening to Maynard Ferguson on the trumpet, when an encounter with two medical students sparked Alan’s dream of staying at Rochester to pursue his medical school education at the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD). At the time, Alan imagined a future as a surgeon. However, as he graduated from SMD and completed an elective rotation, following an internist in his hometown of Binghamton, NY he realized how Member Spotlight
much he valued face-to-face time with patients, hearing their stories and getting to know their families over time. Alan began an internship year in internal medicine at the Mary lmogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, NY and then returned to Strong Memorial Hospital. The long hours, clinical responsibilities, and academic demands often seemed impossible, but the special camaraderie of his class and pride as “Strong’s Medicine Residents” kept him going. Alan finished his medical training with a fellowship in infectious disease at the University of Minnesota and returned to Cooperstown to help create the Infectious Disease Division at Bassett. Now, having completed a rewarding clinical career, Alan continues to teach medical students as an attending physician. His interest in literature continued well past his undergraduate years, inspiring him to provide a writing prompt to his students, which later led to the publication of Let Me Listen to Your Heart: Writings by Medical Students. The book is a collection of essays, poems, and reflections by medical students from the University of Rochester and from Columbia University, as they completed clinical rotations at Bassett. Thinking back on his education, Alan shares, “Like many of us, I entered college with no money. Thanks to a very generous University of Rochester scholarship, and later support from the Clark Foundation, I was able to graduate from college and then medical school without a dollar of debt.” In gratitude, Alan now supports the University of Rochester so that future students can have the same educational opportunities that he did. Alan included the University in his estate planning and established two scholarships to support both undergraduate and medical education. Alan hopes to ease the journey for students and believes there is great importance in paying his good fortune forward. If I can help students realize dreams that lead to a career as fulfilling as mine has been, I will have accomplished a lot. And this will remain my legacy.” “
Including the University of Rochester in Your Will A BEQUEST IS SIMPLE AND CONVENIENT AND PROVIDES YOU WITH A NUMBER OF OPTIONS You can make a bequest for a specific dollar amount or for a percentage of your estate. You can designate your bequest for general use, or you can restrict its use. Many people establish endowments that honor the memory of a family member or another loved one. These endowments live forever, because only the income is used annually. Since a will is an important legal document, we recommend that you seek an attorney’s help. Here are some examples of different types of bequests: • Specific bequests are used to make a gift of a specific dollar amount, or with specific assets such as securities, real estate, or personal property. • Residuary bequests are used to give all or a portion of the rest, residue, and remainder of your estate after payment of expenses and any specific amounts designated to heirs or other beneficiaries. To assist you with this important process, please consider contacting us for suggested wording and to document your wishes. Visit rochester.giftplans.org and click on “Ways to Give.” Beneficiary Designation of Life Insurance or Retirement Assets Name the University as a beneficiary on the form provided by your asset manager. Review the form with your attorney to discuss how such a gift can be incorporated in your plan. Life insurance and retirement assets that pass directly to the University are preserved 100 percent free of tax and your estate is also eligible for a charitable tax deduction. To learn more, visit rochester.giftplans.org or contact us.
Charitable Remainder Unitrust: Variable Income for Life Cash, securities, real estate, life insurance, or personal property can be gifted to fund a trust. These trusts are managed within the University endowment, which provides beneficiaries access to diversity and alternative investments. This option provides variable income for life, or a term of years for one or two individuals, and possibly another generation. The minimum gift amount is $50,000. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS • Immediate charitable income tax deduction • Minimum payout is five percent • 100 percent avoidance of capital gains tax on the transfer, if funded with appreciated assets • Re-valued annually to reflect investment performance, providing opportunity for growth in income To learn more, visit rochester.giftplans.org and click on “Ways to Give.” Charitable Lead Trusts The University receives income for a term of years with the corpus going to you or your heirs. Charitable lead trusts may appeal to individuals who wish to make a gift but retain the property in their family. To learn more, visit rochester.giftplans.org and click on “Ways to Give.”
JOHN STORZ AND DEL BAKER-ROBERTSON Col John P. Storz, DMD, ’74 values the freedom he had at the University of Rochester to delve into many interests and cultivate a spirit of exploration. He shares, “My impression as an undergraduate student and beyond was that my education offered me infinite possibilities. At Rochester, there wasn’t a rigidity in the curriculum as there was at other schools. I thrived on being able to pursue diverse areas of study.” John was a biology major, but one of his favorite classes was about Shakespeare. He also took numerous courses in political science, which served him well later in his military career. John thought he would pursue medical research, but realized it was not for him. One of his classmates was going to dental school, and he decided to apply too. He went on to attend Washington University in St. Louis. John received an Army Health Professions scholarship and was obligated to serve for three years, but he ended up continuing his dental career in the military. “The military experience opened up Member Spotlight
many other possibilities for me,” he says. “It gave me the chance to live in varied geographic locations and to try out different areas of work— opportunities that I would not have had if I had worked in a private dental practice.” John served in the Army for thirty years and had many assignments, including Washington, D.C., where he eventually settled with his husband, Del. “I was never on a strict career path as a student,” John shares, “and that’s why the University of Rochester was such a good fit. The focus was on how to think through problems. That ended up being a great foundation for me in my career.” John’s involvement as a donor has become a meaningful part of his life and led to his joining the University’s Wilson Society. He and Del wanted to establish a scholarship for first-generation students. Speaking with Advancement staff helped them understand that setting up a gift annuity was the most suitable way to go about it—it could extend over a period of time and provide a guaranteed income. They have always felt strongly about the value of education, so this was a natural fit. John enjoys staying connected. “My ties to the University have been good for meeting new people from all different class years. Many of my peers are now retired, so people are starting to get in touch again. At this time of life, there is a lot of interest in reigniting those friendships,” he says. The possibility for making new connections through the University of Rochester also has a lot of appeal for John and Del. “It’s so vitalizing to get to know other alumni,” John says, “It gives us a positive outlook to meet so many others who have a similar approach to lifelong discovery.” “ I support scholarships for students so that they can pursue the same intellectual curiosity that I did.”
Charitable Gift Annuity: Fixed Income for Life This simple contract provides fixed income for life for one or two individuals. Cash or securities can be gifted to fund a gift annuity. The minimum gift amount is $5,000. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS • Immediate charitable income tax deduction • Potential for a portion of income to be tax-free • Tax avoided on part of capital gain, if funded with appreciated securities • Income can be immediate (typically age 50 and older) or deferred For more information on gifts that pay you income, visit rochester.giftplans.org and click on “Ways to Give.” Single Life Two Life AGE PAYOUT AGE PAYOUT 60 5.2% 60-60 4.7% 65 5.7% 65-65 5.0% 70 6.3% 70-70 5.5% 75 7.0% 75-75 6.2% 80 8.1% 80-80 6.9% 85 9.1% 85-85 8.1% American Council on Gift Annuities rates as of January 1, 2024. PAYOUT RATES BASED ON AGE OF BENEFICIARY To calculate your personalized annuity rate, visit rochester.giftplans.org or contact us. These calculations are estimates of gift benefits; your actual benefits may vary. If you are considering a gift annuity and live in New York State, please contact us.
Qualified Charitable Distributions: Tax-Free Gifts from Retirement Accounts If you are age 70½ years or older, you are eligible to make a direct gift, known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), to the University of Rochester tax-free. • You must transfer funds directly from your IRA • A gift “counts” toward your required minimum distribution (RMD) • Gifts are limited to $105,000 annually per person (a married couple with separate IRAs could give up to $210,000 a year) • Distributions can be made only from a traditional or Roth IRA • A transfer is tax-free and is not included in your adjusted gross income, and thus no charitable income tax deduction is allowed • Gifts must be outright—transfers to donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, or private foundations do not qualify IRA Funded Charitable Gift Annuity Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) may now be used to fund a charitable gift annuity with certain limitations. • One-time, one tax year, and limited to $53,000, now indexed for inflation. • No charitable deduction because it is a 100% tax-free transfer • Income is ordinary income • Beneficiaries must be IRA owner or owner and spouse Learn more about this giving opportunity that became law January 1, 2023 by visiting rochester.giftplans.org
Member Spotlight JANE TUTTLE In choosing a career, Jane Tuttle, PhD, ’79N, ’84N (MS) thought about how she loves people and she loves science, so nursing was the perfect fit. That’s been reinforced again and again, and she believes the University of Rochester School of Nursing has shaped her career enormously. Considering herself a lifelong learner, Jane found the flexibility she needed at Rochester, to complete her nursing education in stages, and has used that foundation to become an advocate for other nurses. After she completed her bachelor’s degree in 1979, she moved to Washington, D.C. to take a position working with Georgetown University’s community health plan, and her UR education was noted by the person who hired her as a major factor. Then, after moving back and completing her master’s as a family nurse practitioner at Rochester,
she went on to take a faculty position at the Yale School of Nursing. Once again, her UR education set her apart. During her eight years in New Haven, she completed her PhD at the University of Connecticut and then returned to Rochester, this time to take a faculty position in the family nurse practitioner program, which she later directed for more than 20 years. Jane shares, “What is unique about Rochester is the mentoring, the reputation, the way we work in an interdisciplinary way across the University and Medical Center. I enjoy the balance I’ve had with patient care, research, writing, and of course teaching.” Jane has directed her giving toward scholarships because she has a special place in her heart for students. “As a faculty member, students are what it’s all about,” she says. “That’s why we do what we do. They need the support. When I started out, I didn’t have a lot of resources.” Now, Jane and her husband value being members of the Wilson Society, staying connected with alumni, and contributing to the future of the school. Jane says, “I knew I wanted to recognize the University of Rochester in my will in memory of my dear friend Eleanor Hall who was instrumental in founding the School of Nursing here. When she died, I became a member of the bequest society in her honor.” The society, formerly named the Eleanor Hall Bequest Society, has been incorporated into the University’s Wilson Society; however, Hall, chair of the Department of Nursing of the School of Medicine and Dentistry from 1957 to 1971, is still remembered profoundly. Jane often walks by the portrait of Hall at the school and feels she can hear her mentor’s voice, guiding her in her practice. “I feel lucky that I found nursing and that the University of Rochester has been a real home to me over all these years,” she reflects. “ We all benefited from the resources, and now we can help others take advantage of that. The University of Rochester is always on the cutting edge. I am so proud of how highly regarded we are.”
The Wilson Society A planned gift to the University of Rochester is one of the easiest ways to ensure the greatest and most lasting impact on the programs you care about. These gifts qualify you to become a member of the Wilson Society and ensure that the areas you value the most continue to thrive at the University well beyond your lifetime. Your membership gives voice to your vision for Rochester’s future, and serves as inspiration for others. By planning a gift, you create an opportunity to make an indelible mark on the University and ensure your legacy. From the River Campus and the Medical Center to the Eastman School of Music and the Memorial Art Gallery, you will find legacies in the form of named spaces, permanent endowed funds for scholarships, fellowships, and professorships.
Imagine Your Legacy To learn more about how you can become a member, call us at 800-MELIORA (800-635-4672) or please visit: rochester.giftplans.org To view our member listing, click on “Membership”
For a personal illustration or information about gift planning at the University of Rochester, please contact: Office of Trusts, Estates & Gift Planning Carmen Aiezza Karen Amico Rosanna Centanni Jack Kreckel Christopher Raimy Kathy Ureles Taylor (585) 275-8894 (800) MELIORA (635-4672) giftplanning@rochester.edu rochester.giftplans.org Spring 2024 This information is intended for informational and educational purposes. It should not be interpreted as legal, tax or investment advice. Please consult your professional advisors for applicability to your own situation.
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