The Thomas Eakins Society was established to honor and recognize individuals who have included Thomas Jefferson University or Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in their estate plans. By providing benefits that last beyond a lifetime, these donors have ensured that Jefferson will remain a superior center of academic medicine and continue its legacy of education, discovery, and healing just as it has since 1824.

Although he was an artist rather than a physician, Thomas Eakins is strongly associated with Jefferson. At age 31, after having studied anatomy at Jefferson Medical College, he painted The Gross Clinic. The painting depicts an operation being performed by the great surgeon Samuel D. Gross, M.D, (JMC 1828). before a rapt audience of medical students. The painting is highly symbolic of the legacy of Jefferson and revered by its alumni and students.

Jefferson is proud to honor donors who have informed us of their estate plans with membership in The Thomas Eakins Society, for we recognize that through their vision and generosity, Jefferson will continue the proud tradition that Thomas Eakins so beautifully portrayed. Eakins Society members will be listed in the annual honor roll of donors and receive invitations to special events.

For more information about giving to Jefferson through your estate, contact Paul M. Hurd, Jr., Assistant Vice President, Development and Alumni Relations, at 215-955-8818 or by e-mail at paul.hurd@jefferson.edu.