The Spirit of Ralph P. Leischner, MD, Lives on Through Student Scholarships
The late Ralph P. Leischner, MD, former senior associate dean of the Stritch School of Medicine (Stritch), dedicated his career to the education of medical students.
“If their training at Loyola has hit the mark, they will have a mind for treating the body and a heart for treating the spirit,” he said of his educational philosophy.
Dr. Leischner’s daughter, Jennifer Leischner Litowitz, believes the best way she can keep her father’s philosophy alive is through donations to the Ralph P. Leischner, MD, Memorial Scholarship.
Dr. Leischner, who was an associate professor of pathology, played a major role in revising the medical education curriculum in 1991 and designing the Stritch School of Medicine building. His family created a scholarship in his name shortly after his death in 2000 at the age of 57 of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Mrs. Litowitz and her husband, Alec Litowitz, have donated $491,500 toward the scholarship — which currently is worth approximately $850,000 — and supplemented it with gifts from friends, colleagues and other family members including Leischner siblings Matthew, Julie and Mark, who graduated from Stritch in 1998, 1999 and 2001, respectively.
“The scholarship makes everyone feel as if we are in touch with his spirit,”
said Mrs. Litowitz, who graduated from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1994.
Dr. Leischner’s wife, Gloria, is also involved with the scholarship, thanking donors with personalized messages. “It is heart-warming to see my children have such reverence for their father and that they recognize the importance of giving to this noble cause,” she said.
The scholarship is awarded annually to a fourth-year medical student who personifies the physician-educator’s values: compassion, integrity, enthusiasm and a commitment to lifelong learning. To date, $94,500 in scholarship money has been awarded to Stritch students; the 2005 – 2006 scholarship covered the recipient’s entire fourth-year tuition.
“My initial reactions were shock, disbelief and eventually incredible excitement,” said fourth-year medical student Michael Ryan upon learning he was named the Leischner Memorial Scholarship recipient earlier this year. “The scholarship and Dr. Leischner’s passion have inspired me to continue to strive for excellence in teaching and service.”