Donald Janower, D.O.’67, and his wife, Barbara, believe in the power of education, and they act on that belief through their civic engagement and charitable giving. That includes their creating in 2009 the Barbara and Donald Janower Endowed Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships for DMU osteopathic medical students in good academic standing with significant financial need.
“We decided that Des Moines University is the reason we’re living the life we are today, and why we can afford to help other students,” Dr. Janower says. “We wanted to find a lasting way to help bright students who are poor like we were.”
The couple, who reside in Boca Raton, FL, are mindful of the tuition burden borne by many medical students. That’s why they made an additional gift to the University in 2015 that increased the Janower Endowed Scholarship to a “merit” fund, which covers one-quarter of the recipient’s annual tuition.
Increasing scholarship support is among the priorities of the Campaign for Des Moines University.
“We are very thankful for the life we’ve had because of the education I received at DMU. The school gave me the opportunity to do what I did,” says Dr. Janower, who practiced general medicine in the Detroit area for many years. “We figure the scholarship is our way of helping others achieve that kind of reward.”