John York II, MD, (Stritch ’74) Establishes Endowment for Medical Education Institute

Stritch School of Medicine (Stritch) class of 1974 alumnus, John York II, MD, his wife, Denise and their family made a $1.5 million gift to establish an endowment for the Ralph P. Leischner Jr., MD, Institute for Medical Education. This anchor gift, given through the Marie Denise DeBartolo York Foundation, which is involved in philanthropy to health care and education, will ensure that the Stritch experience continues to be rich and fulfilling, one that prepares tomorrow’s best physicians to heal both body and spirit.

During his education, Dr. York also attended Notre Dame and Vanderbilt Universities. He has little doubt that some of the best teaching he experienced was at Stritch. His reasons for helping to create the Leischner Institute were twofold: to ensure that the gift would help maintain, in perpetuity, a strong teaching curriculum within Stritch, and to honor the extraordinary legacy of one of Loyola University Health System’s (Loyola) most inspirational leaders.

Dr. York first became acquainted with Dr. Leischner as a resident in pathology at Loyola. Passionate about the entire process of educating medical students, Dr. Leischner devoted more than 30 years of his life to teaching, medicine and the Jesuit ideal of concern for the whole person at Stritch. He was recognized as an inspiring teacher and leader who Dr. York credits with his enthusiasm for learning. “With Ralph’s guidance,” said Dr. York, “I truly learned, for the first time, how to read. To say such a thing is no small matter, since most people don’t know how to read closely and actually learn and retain new knowledge as they read. Ralph taught me how to do this, and consequently taught me how to learn pathology.” This feeling about Dr. Leischner is broadly shared as evidenced by the Stritch student body having elected Dr. Leischner Teacher of the Year 10 times and Graduates’ Outstanding Professor seven times.

Over the years, Dr. York, Denise and their family continually made gifts to support Stritch. Their desire to do more – to give a gift that would grow and touch the core of Stritch and recognize Dr. Leischner’s contributions – inspired the gift to establish the endowment.

The Leischner Institute will build upon Stritch’s leadership role in preparing future physicians who provide exceptional, compassionate medical care, ensuring that the medical curriculum and teaching methods adapt to the needs of an ever-changing health-care environment.

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