Former students gave $50M to U-M Cardiovascular Center

Samuel and Jean Frankel's foundation made an anonymous gift of $25 million in 2007 to support the Cardiovascular Center at the University of Michigan.

This year, the former U-M students' foundation gave another $25 million to the Cardiovascular Center, making the late couple among the most generous philanthropists to advance health care at U-M.

On Thursday, the U-M board of regents approved designating the center the Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center after the 2007 donors were named publicly for the first time.

"If there was a Stanley Cup in philanthropy, I would present it to you," Regent Denise Ilitch said.

The first gift helped with a new way of diagnosing patients with cardiovascular disease through a model of patient- and family-centered care in clinical care, research and education.

The second gift came after the university met goals agreed upon by leaders of the university and the donors. Areas measured included patient satisfaction, joint departmental appointments and clinical results.

U-M President Mary Sue Coleman said, "This is really one of those transformative gifts."

"The gift guarantees that innovative approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of patients and families with cardiovascular disease will continue at Michigan and provide a national model," Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, the health system's chief executive, said in a statement.

An early gift by the couple to the Center for Judaic Studies also led to the center being named for them.

The Frankels were students at the university in the 1930s. Samuel Frankel, a longtime Detroit-area real estate developer, died in 2008, and his wife died last year.

Kim.Kozlowski@detroitnews.com

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The Associated Press contributed.