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PHILANTHROPIST COLEMAN CONTRIBUTES TO UT HAMILTON EYE INSTITUTE

 

            Memphis, Tennessee (April 19, 2006) – The University of Tennessee Hamilton Eye Institute is the most recent beneficiary of philanthropist David D. “Mickey” Coleman.  His $1.1 million gift is in the form of a charitable remainder annuity trust establishing the David D. Coleman Endowment.

            This gift is preceded by contributions to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, totaling in excess of $1.5 million, including a $1.2 million trust fund that established the David D. Coleman Endowed Professorship in Transplantation Research.

            “This wonderful gift will dramatically increase our ability to fight blindness among the citizens of Tennessee by providing facilities, as well as advanced clinical and research programs.  I am particularly honored that an individual of Mr. Coleman’s character and business acumen would choose to share our mission to cure individuals afflicted by eye disease. His support will help to make the UT Hamilton Eye Institute a center of excellence and hope for Tennessee and the nation," said UT Hamilton Professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, Barrett G. Haik, MD. Consistently ranked in the nation’s top ten for clinical care, the Hamilton Eye Institute is the only university eye center providing an advanced level of vision care within a 200-mile radius of Memphis.

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