A Powerful Pairing

The Al Glick family supports children’s health and honors an icon of Michigan athletics

Though he never attended Michigan, Al Glick has a profound loyalty to the university. That loyalty was sparked years ago when his big brother, Robert “Bob” Glick, was a student at the U-M and, during visits home, would tell his wide-eyed younger brother tales of campus life.

“I didn’t go here,” recalls Glick today, “but they (the U-M) adopted me, or I adopted them — I’m not sure which!”

Either way, the relationship has been a uniquely synergistic one. Glick, chairman and CEO of Alro Steel Corporation, based in Jackson, Michigan, has been an avid and generous supporter of the U-M Athletic Department and, most recently, the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.

From humble beginnings in a small storehouse, Al and Robert Glick built Alro Steel into a large and successful corporation that has employed thousands of people over many decades, helped support myriad forms of industry, and sparked a broad and robust philanthropy. Today, there are 50 branches of Alro Steel in 12 states.

Alro is still very much a family business. Al Glick’s son, Randy, is vice president of operations. Bob Glick’s son Barry is vice chairman of the board and president of the Alro Metal Service Center, while son Carl serves as vice president. Carl’s son Brian is purchasing manager. Bob Glick died in 2001, but Al Glick is proud to carry on the brothers’ “true blue” legacy.

He rarely misses a Michigan home football game and frequently watches practice. And, perhaps surprisingly, he adds that his extraordinary flair for business has been deeply inspired by Michigan football. The qualities that make a great football team, he says — good, reliable people working together with camaraderie — dovetail neatly with those needed to succeed in business.

Over the years, Glick became close friends with Michigan football coaches Bo Schembechler, Gary Moeller, Lloyd Carr and Rich Rodriguez, and says he has learned invaluable life lessons from each of them. A gift to the U-M Athletic Department from the Glick family led to the naming of the Al Glick Field House, the football program’s indoor practice facility.

Earlier this year, Glick and his family, inspired by Carr’s passionate involvement as co-chair of the fundraising campaign to build a new Mott Children’s Hospital, made a major gift to the university and earmarked a significant portion for Mott. The gift resulted in a naming opportunity, but Glick had an unexpected idea.

On May 14, at the 2011 Griese/Hutchinson/Woodson Gala Dinner, Carr learned that the pediatric cancer unit at Mott would bear his name. “I cannot adequately express how I feel,” Carr said when he learned of the naming. “It’s overwhelming. The generosity of Al Glick and his family fills me with thankfulness.”

Of this “unexpected idea,” Glick says, “Lloyd has spent so much time at Mott Hospital and is well deserving of this honor. Our family is proud to honor Lloyd in this way, for his passion for both Mott Hospital and Michigan football. He teaches anyone he’s in contact with so much about winning.”

Of course, the true winners here are the children who will receive lifesaving cancer treatment in the Coach Carr Unit — a state-of-the-art facility made possible by a unique and powerful pairing: Michigan football and Al Glick. —WHITLEY HILL

For a ‘Wonderful and Fulfilling Life’

Michael Antonaccio, from New Hope, Pennsylvania, is establishing a fellowship in pharmacology at the Medical School in his name and that of his wife, Patty, through a charitable gift annuity.

Antonaccio earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology at the U-M in 1970. Throughout a long and fruitful career, Antonaccio has worked for both large and small pharmaceutical companies, such as Schering-Plough, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Human Genome Sciences, including as an executive officer.

An active researcher with more than 250 published scientific papers and abstracts, Antonaccio has made major contributions to drug discovery, clinical research and new drug project management. Now retired, he has written several novels.

“This gift has two major aspects for me,” says Antonaccio. “The first is payback for everything the university, and especially the Department of Pharmacology, gave to me that allowed me to have such a wonderful and fulfilling life. The second is a desire to help other students who might require a little financial help to have the same opportunity that I had.” —WH

Loyalty Matters

“My goal has been to make students and alumni aware that they’re Michigan alumni forever,” says Tom Varbedian (M.D. 1956), of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. “They have a responsibility and owe a sort of loyalty to the school.”

Varbedian achieves this goal through an exemplary spirit of giving. He has funded numerous Medical School scholarships and maintains personal relationships and mentorships with many of his “Varbedian scholars.” A member of the board and tireless advocate for the Medical Center Alumni Society (MCAS), and a frequent attendee at student events such as the White Coat Ceremony and Match Day, he has now arranged a bequest to establish the Thomas G. Varbedian, M.D., Endowed Aortic Research Fund and to contribute additional support to the Thomas G. and Marilynn Varbedian Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Varbedian earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at the U-M. After a residency in ophthalmology at Wayne State University, he practiced in Birmingham, Michigan, for 30 years and was, for 14 years, chief of ophthalmology at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. In 2004 he received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from the Alumni Association of the U-M. He was married to the late Marilynn Mardigian Varbedian for 43 years. —WH

Engineering Solutions in Vascular Surgery

Edward B. “Ted” Diethrich (M.D. 1960, Residency 1963), an internationally renowned cardiovascular surgeon, is regarded as one of the world’s pioneers in heart disease diagnosis and innovative cardiovascular and endovascular treatments. Diethrich and his wife, Gloria, have made a gift to establish the Edward B. Diethrich, M.D., Research Professorship in Biomedical Engineering and Vascular Surgery, supporting research, clinical application and teaching within the Medical School.

A Michigan native whose interest in medicine was encouraged by his mother, an operating room nurse, Diethrich completed a U-M surgery residency followed by a cardiovascular surgery residency at the Baylor College of Medicine under the tutelage of famed heart surgeon Michael DeBakey. He remained at Baylor as an assistant professor for six years.

In 1971, Diethrich founded the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix, the nation’s first freestanding outpatient clinic devoted solely to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart and blood vessel disease, including the first outpatient cardiac catheterization laboratory in the U.S. As chief of cardiovascular surgery at AHI, now an affiliate of Abrazo Medical Group, he performs state-of-the-art endovascular procedures using the latest techniques and devices, many of which he helped to design or test in clinical trials. Diethrich’s professional accomplishments are diverse and include the development of the sternal saw used for open chest surgery. He lectures and operates worldwide, teaching many of the procedures developed at AHI. —WH

Supporting Resident Education

Two funds in support of resident training in orthopedic surgery have been established in the Medical School in honor of Richard H. Schneider (M.D. 1952, Residency 1959): The Richard H. Schneider, M.D., Fund for Education in Orthopaedic Surgery, and the Richard H. Schneider, M.D., Orthopaedic Library Fund.

Schneider graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Medical School. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he returned to the U-M for a residency in orthopedic surgery. He practiced in Jackson, Michigan, from 1960-2001 and touched many lives. He and his wife, Margaret, who died in 2003, raised three children.

Several years ago, Schneider contacted the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery about making a gift, but died suddenly in 2010 before arrangements could be completed. His children discovered correspondence about the gift, and decided to see his wishes through.

“Dad told me that he felt he owed a great deal of his success to the education he received at the University of Michigan,” says Cindy Nixon, one of Schneider’s daughters. “He was ‘true blue’ and very proud of his affiliation with the university.” —WH

Professorships Recently Inaugurated

The Henry Clay Bryant Professorship in Pathology was established through a gift from the estate of Henry Clay Bryant Jr. (M.D. 1940, Residency 1942, Ph.D. 1949), along with funds from the Department of Pathology, to support translational research. Bryant held several U-M posts and was primary owner and chief of pathology at the Physicians’ Clinical Laboratory of Ann Arbor. Kojo S.J. Elenitoba-Johnson, M.D., a professor of pathology and director of the Division of Translational Research and the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, was installed as the first Bryant Professor on September 19.

Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and of Pathology Elizabeth R. Lawlor, M.D., Ph.D., on October 17 was installed as the first holder of the Russell G. Adderley Professorship in Pediatric Oncology. Established through a bequest from Margaret A. Kelly to preserve the memory of her grandson — who died at an early age from sarcoma — the professorship honors Russell G. Adderley, son of Terence E. Adderley, a U-M alumnus and chairman and CEO of Kelly Services, Inc., a Fortune 500 staffing services company.

A renowned interventional cardiologist was honored October 26 with the inauguration of the Eric J. Topol Collegiate Professorship in Cardiovascular Medicine. Topol served on the Medical School faculty from 1985-91, and now leads the National Institutes of Health-supported Scripps Translational Science Institute. Stanley J. Chetcuti, M.D., an associate professor of internal medicine, is the first Topol Professor.

Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and of Internal Medicine Linda C. Samuelson, Ph.D., on November 1 was installed as the first holder of the John A. Williams Collegiate Professorship in Gastrointestinal Physiology. The professorship was established by contributions from Williams — former chair of the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology — his colleagues, family and the Medical School. Williams has conducted leading research in pancreatic physiology. —KB