2 minute read
Motivated by a passion for public health
Henry Oster, MD ’71 (pictured), knows firsthand about the influence of an institution on a career trajectory. As a transfer student more than 50 years ago from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, he wondered how he would fit in with the Harvard Medical School community.
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As the ensuing decades would show: quite well.
The Ventura, California, infectious disease physician has established two charitable gift annuities (CGAs) totaling $500,000 for the future benefit of the School, and he hopes to continue to give back, in part because of the way he was received and integrated into HMS so long ago.
“I transferred … as a third-year student and immediately felt a welcoming and forgiving environment,” says Oster. Still practicing medicine, he has been busier than ever in a COVID-19 work environment that has resulted in understaffing and continuing concerns about not only COVID but also influenza and other infectious diseases. He has also recently become a mentor to students at the California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Oster’s gift will provide vital discretionary funds that will enable HMS to support priority needs and invest in emerging opportunities to advance the School as a leader in medical education and research.
“I have generous regard for several of my institutions of higher learning, of which Harvard is a prime example,” says Oster, who received substantial financial help as a student through loans and grants. “I believe our academic experiences so shape our lives that any subsequent good fortune ought to be shared.”
Oster says he was attracted by the tax benefits a CGA provides and inspired by those who have been able to make larger financial contributions to the School. But the deciding factor was the possibility that his gift could be used to assist the next generation of physicians battling the next pandemic, particularly those who work in public health clinics—a passion he shared with his late wife, Pamela. And when he is able, he hopes to give even more.
“I had the great fortune to be married to a career educator and public health professional,” he says. “I have more reason than ever to support our mutual lifelong aspirations.”
