Sam Donaldson and Jan Smith-Donaldson To Receive 2000
Ambassador of Hope Award
The Friends of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Eppley Cancer
Center have selected Sam Donaldson, a 32-year ABC News veteran, and his
wife, Jan Smith-Donaldson, a CNN reporter, to receive the 2000 Ambassador
of Hope Award. The Donaldsons will be honored at a Nov. 17 dinner
at the Strategic Air Command Museum.
The Ambassador of Hope Award is given every other year by the Friends
of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, a community-based group committed to
raising funds for cancer research, to individuals who have made a significant
contribution in the fight against cancer through their research or patient
care activities or by raising the public’s awareness of cancer.
The Donaldsons have been advocates of cancer research since Sam’s diagnosis
with melanoma cancer and the diagnoses of Jan’s mother and sister with
breast cancer. Sam has been a national spokesperson for cancer awareness
and works to increase the national budget for cancer research. In
1998, he was one of the key leaders, along with Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf,
at the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) March on Washington
and served as the master of ceremonies for the NCCS Rays of Hope Candlelight
Vigil in 1999.
He is an active participant in the National Dialog on Cancer and is
on the board of directors for Research America, an alliance for discoveries
in health care. He will be the emcee for Research America’s 4th Annual
Advocacy Awards in April. Smith-Donaldson has been actively involved
in raising funds for cancer research. She most recently chaired the
gala for the Cancer Research Foundation of America in Washington, D.C.
“The Donaldsons are a powerful advocate in the battle against cancer,”
said Kenneth H. Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer
Center. “They have served to increase public awareness of the importance
of cancer research and the need to increase research funding.”
During the 1997-1998 season of “Prime Time Live,” Donaldson co-anchored
a special edition of the program with Judd Rose, in which the two men shared
their personal experiences with cancer. In 1999, Donaldson received
the Gilda Radner Courage Award from the Roswell Park Alliance, honoring
those who generate awareness of the fight against cancer.
In addition to three Emmy Awards and a George Foster Peabody Award,
Donaldson received the ABroadcaster of the Year@ award from the National
Press Foundation in 1998. He was named the Best Television White
House Correspondent in the Business by the Washington Journal Review in
1985, and the Best Television Correspondent in the Business in 1986, 1987,
1988 and 1989.
Donaldson served two appointments as Chief White House Correspondent
for ABC, covering Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. He also
is a correspondent for A20/20″ and a co-anchor with Cokie Roberts on the
ABC News Sunday morning program, “This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie
Roberts.”
Donaldson received his bachelor’s degree from Texas Western College
and did graduate work at the University of Southern California. He
began his broadcast career in Dallas at KRLD-TV in 1959. He soon
joined WTOP-TV in Washington, D.C. and moved to ABC News in 1967.
Honorary chairpersons for the Ambassador of Hope dinner are Ken and
Anne Stinson. The general chairperson for the event is Jody Hobson.
Tickets for the dinner are available with several different cost options
for individuals, couples, corporations and groups. Invitations will
be sent throughout the community prior to the event. Proceeds raised from
the dinner will go toward cancer research at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
For ticket information or to become a Friend of the UNMC Eppley Cancer
Center, call (402) 559-4090.
The UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, a partnership between UNMC and the Nebraska
Health System (NHS), is a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center
— a distinction held by only 59 centers in the country. Of the nearly
$31 million in competitive, external research grants and contracts awarded
to UNMC in 1998-99, cancer-related research accounted for about one-half
of that amount.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the state.
Through its commitment to research, education, outreach and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment, solid organ transplantation and arthritis.
During the past year, UNMC’s funding from the National Institutes of Health
increased by 28 percent, going from $16.2 million to $20.7 million. UNMC’s
educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals
practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.
Nebraska Health System (NHS) is the partnership of the former Clarkson
Hospital, the first hospital in Nebraska, and the former University Hospital,
the primary teaching facility for the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
The combined hospital is a 685-bed facility and serves approximately 25
percent of the Omaha-area market. NHS operates clinics and health care
centers serving Omaha, Plattsmouth and Auburn in Nebraska; and Council
Bluffs and Shenandoah in Iowa. In addition, NHS physicians operate more
than 300 outpatient clinics in 100 communities in four states. NHS provides
access to tertiary and primary care including world-class specialized treatment
such as solid organ transplantation, burn care, wound care, geriatrics,
bone marrow (stem cell) transplantation and other cancer treatments.