Prescribing Success

Alumnus Continues Family’s Legacy, Creates Scholarship for UC College of Medicine Students

Dr. Dan Lucas was destined to attend the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. And now he says it’s his duty to give back to the school that means so much to his family.

Dan’s great grandfather, Chaim Schulzinger, worked as a street peddler in Mount Adams, Cincinnati’s first suburb, to help put his son, Dr. Morris Schulzinger, BS ’25, MS ’26, MD ’28, through UC’s medical school. His paternal grandmother, Ruby Schaen, was in UC’s first women’s business co-operative education class. Unfortunately, she did not have the means to continue her education, but she made sure her children did.

At just 22 years of age, Dan’s father, the late Dr. Stanley J. Lucas, BS ’48, MD ’51, graduated from UC’s medical school. He would spend most of his 50-year medical career in Cincinnati, opening his first private practice in 1961 and maintaining it until his retirement in 1999. He was well recognized in the Cincinnati medical community, serving as president of the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine and the Ohio State Medical Association. He was also a fellow of the American College of Radiology and a Silver Medal Award winner from the Ohio chapter of the college.

Dan’s mother, Judy, is also well-regarded in the Cincinnati community. She received her master’s degree in art education from UC in 1980 and helped catalogue UC’s extensive art collection.

Their experiences inspired Dan, who continued the tradition, graduating from the UC College of Medicine in 1983. Now an accomplished radiologist living in Scottsdale, Ariz., Dan wants to make sure the next generation has the same opportunity to attend UC.

“In today’s world, personal sacrifices alone are not enough.” Dan said. “You can no longer fund your education as a street peddler.”

Dan recently donated $50,000 to the UC College of Medicine to create a scholarship for students while honoring his parents and the family’s extraordinary legacy at UC. The Dr. Stanley J. and Judith Lucas Scholarship will support a medical student with financial need from the Greater Cincinnati area.

“My father thought the practice of medicine was a noble profession, and he would not have wanted people to be discouraged from pursuing that path because of financial reasons,” Dan said. “We want the best and brightest to be able to go to medical school.”

Today, the average medical school graduate at a public institution faces upwards of $167,000 in debt upon graduation, according to an analysis of the class of 2014 by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“I wish I had more to give, but any amount makes a difference,” Dan said.

He hopes students will be able to combine the scholarship with other sources of financial aid to cover the full cost of tuition.

"It’s not the size of the scholarship that is important. It’s about thinking of others with kindness and support,” said Dan’s mother, Judy.

“I’d like to encourage other people of my generation to give,” Dan said. “You don’t have to be a millionaire to make a difference in peoples’ lives.”

Join Dan in supporting UC College of Medicine students by giving to the Dr. Stanley J. and Judy Lucas Scholarship Fund or the fund of your choice. Every gift matters.

Media Contact:

Caitlin Whitehurst
Assist. Director of Public Relations
513-556-4395
caitlin.whitehurst@uc.edu