Photo courtesy of the Diller family
UC San Francisco awarded the UCSF Medal – the university’s highest honor – to three visionary leaders who have advanced health research and care with their contributions.
Philanthropist and longtime UCSF champion Helen Diller, Kathleen Dracup, RN, PhD, dean emerita and professor in the UCSF School of Nursing, and Shirley M. Tilghman, PhD, president emerita at Princeton University, received the 2015 UCSF Medal at a dinner at San Francisco City Hall on Nov. 4.
The UCSF Medal is a tradition started in 1975 by then Chancellor Francis Sooy, MD, and replaces honorary degrees awarded to individuals. Medal recipients are selected by a committee of university and community members every year in a competitive process.
As in previous years, the 2015 recipients’ accomplishments were celebrated as part of the Founders Day celebration of UCSF’s contributions to the people of California.
Helen Diller
Community leader and philanthropist Helen Diller (1929-2015) received the UCSF Medal posthumously for her outstanding contributions to advancing health care and research.
A San Francisco native, Diller was born at Mount Zion hospital and completed her undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley, where she met her husband Sanford. In her work as a community leader and philanthropist, she served as the Northwest President of the American Friends of Hebrew University and as chair of the Bay Area Friends of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Diller received many honors and awards for her work, including the Scopus Award from Hebrew University, the Visionary Leader Award from the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Fundraising Professionals.
More recently, Diller turned her wealth of experience toward supporting groundbreaking medical research. Diller was an early and strong supporter of UCSF’s Mission Bay campus. In June 2009, UCSF inaugurated the Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Building at Mission Bay, which is focused on cutting-edge work to detect, treat and prevent cancer. In 2007, UCSF renamed its cancer center the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in honor of Diller's commitment to improving lives worldwide and for serving as a role model who inspires others to make a difference in their communities.
Diller died at age 85 on Jan. 7, 2015.
“Helen was a visionary and a tireless philanthropist,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “It is a fitting tribute to her memory that so many people will associate her name with health, hope, and happiness.”