Donors

William Robert Jarvis, M.D., '74

By Camille Webb

William Robert Jarvis, M.D., a 1974 graduate of the Medical School, is from California and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He and his wife, Dr. Janine Jason, have two daughters, Danielle (oldest) and Ashley. The Jarvis' enjoy spending their winters on Hilton Head Island, S.C., while their summers are split between San Francisco and on the ocean in Port Orford, Ore.

Dr. Jarvis and his wife, who also is a physician, worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 23 years. They left the CDC in August 2003 to start their own private medical consulting firm, with an emphasis on health care epidemiology and infection control.

Why was it important for you to give back to the Medical School?

It was important for several reasons. One reason is because I wouldn't be where I am today without the Medical School. The second reason is I have two daughters, one in law school and the other completing college, and you recognize the increased expense of education today. My wife and I both feel that it's important to give back to places that helped us to get where we are.

Why did you choose to support student scholarships?

Because current medical students are the future of medicine. Also, because current graduates are ending up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt. I think the financial aid organizations have changed as well. Now you get a much higher interest rate than when we were in school. It's important to give back to the school and support people coming into the field and help them avoid that enormous debt at graduation.

Did you receive a scholarship as a student?

No I didn't. One of the reasons why I ended up in Texas was because it was one of the least expensive schools, and it was a lot less money in the 1970s than it is today.

What message would you tell your fellow alumni about investing in the school?

We wouldn't be as successful as we are without the education we received and the mentors we had. A little financial aid can go a long way and make it possible for others to go to medical school who otherwise wouldn't be able to or would be saddled with large amounts of debt at graduation.