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About the Bucksbaum Institute

About Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum

Our doctor, Mark Siegler, showed us what good doctoring involved, and it was just as much about compassion and communication as clinical competence. We decided to support a program that would, over time, teach many physicians the best ways to communicate and export those role-model doctors to other medical schools and communities, where they could carry on the process of superb patient care.

Carolyn “Kay” Bucksbaum

Carolyn “Kay” Bucksbaum and Dr. Mark Siegler, the physician who inspired the Bucksbaums’ donation to create the Institute.
INSPIRED BY A DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP

The Bucksbaum Institute was created through a $42 million gift from the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation. The gift, one of the largest donations ever made to the University of Chicago Medical Center, was inspired by their doctor-patient relationship.

Matthew Bucksbaum was the former chairman and chief executive officer of General Growth Properties (GGP), the country’s second largest owner, developer, and manager of regional shopping malls. GGP was founded by Matthew Bucksbaum and his brothers Maurice and Martin. Mr. Bucksbaum died on November 24, 2013.

Carolyn “Kay” Swartz Bucksbaum graduated with honors from Grinnell College, where she was editor of the college newspaper. She served as the first woman president of the board of trustees at Grinnell College. She now is the chairwoman of the board of the Aspen Music Festival and serves on the boards of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the National Public Radio Foundation.