Herbert J. Wilson, president of the James and Lynelle Holden Fund of Troy, has announced a gift of $1 million to the University of Michigan. The gift will support laboratories for research conducted by the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases.
The new James and Lynelle Holden Neonatal Research Laboratories will be located in the Medical Science Research Building III, now under construction at the Medical Center.
The James and Lynelle Holden Fund, which was established in 1941, has a lengthy association with the U-M. A gift from the Holden Fund helped establish the James and Lynelle Holden Perinatal Hospital, which opened in 1972 and is now housed within the Maternal and Child Health Center.
In announcing the new gift, Wilson said: “This gift is a continuation of the Holden Fund’s commitment of 20 years ago to the health of newborn children. The trustees and I are very pleased with the work and the continuing progress which has been demonstrated by the physician-scientists and the University of Michigan, and we feel that this gift will have great future benefits.
“We are particularly impressed with the caring and competent staff at Holden Hospital, and we look forward to future excellence through the establishment of these research laboratories. The Holden Fund is proud to be associated with the University of Michigan’s Department of Pediatrics.”
Robert P. Kelch, professor and chair of the department, said: “With this gift, the Holden Fund will help enhance our current understanding of the developmental processes of newborns and promote wider applications of that knowledge to benefit newborn infants. We are tremendously grateful to Mr. Wilson and the Trustees of the Holden Fund for their endorsement and support, and especially for their far-sighted approach to curing human disease among children.”
Current leadership of the Holden Fund includes Wilson and Trustees Herbert E. Weston and Arthur Kaufmann.
