Personal Giving Stories
Jay Victor's generosity offers long-term opportunity for academic "late-bloomers"
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Dr. Jay Victor (AB '58, MD '62) admits he wasn't much of a student in high school, but because the University of Michigan took a chance on him five decades ago, he is determined to help other promising young scholars come to U-M and reach their full potential.
The retired dermatologist from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., recently made a cash gift to endow the Jay Victor Scholarship Fund in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Based on his own experience as a self-described academic "late bloomer," Dr. Victor says he believes that students "who have had only limited success in high school, yet have demonstrated perseverance, a strong work ethic, tenacity, reliability, organizational skills and other such traits, should be given an opportunity to reach their potential and become substantial citizens who contribute to our culture."
To ensure his gift delivers that opportunity long into the future, Dr. Victor has also made a bequest to support the endowment and scholarships at the medical school.
"Making a bequest is just so clean and easy," he says. "It's great to see the cash gift go to work right away, but it's really nice to know that your bequest will sustain your contribution for the long-term."
Dr. Victor's generosity reflects his long association with the Maize and Blue. In addition to his undergraduate and graduate studies at Michigan, two of his four children, Jonah (AB '02) and Lauren (AB '05), are U-M graduates. Dr. Victor and his wife, Marianne, are avid U-M football fans and have been season ticket holders for more than 25 years. His passion for Michigan began more than 60 years ago when he volunteered as an usher at Michigan Stadium.
That devotion was reflected earlier this summer with his participation in the Michigan Fantasy Football Camp. With proceeds benefiting prostate cancer research, the two-day camp gave its adult participants a real taste of the Wolverine experience. Coaches ran these "players" through drills, taught them the special techniques of each position and scrutinized their performance. Victor and his teammates even dined at the team's training table. "The only difference was that our steaks were smaller, and we could have cocktails," he notes.
Asked whether his performance suggested that he may have shown the same delayed potential on the gridiron as he did in the classroom, Victor replied with an emphatic, "No way!"
"I was at best 160 pounds in college," he says. "Even as a late bloomer, I wouldn't have stood a chance."
Through his long-term generosity, however, Dr. Victor is helping to ensure that future generations of students will have the chance to unlock their academic potential and flourish at Michigan and in the world beyond.
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