October 27, 2004

Anonymous Benefactor Who Helped Boise State Pre-Med Students Is Revealed To Be The Late Dr. Ralph Jones

For the past six years an anonymous benefactor has helped 25 Boise State University students achieve their dreams of medical and research careers. Their benefactor, Dr. Ralph Jones, was adamant about keeping his identity a secret during his lifetime.   Jones died this past August at the age of 96. He was a beloved surgeon, practicing in Boise from 1938 until his retirement in 1980. He was, at different times, president of the medical staff at both Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center and St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center.   “I am greatly appreciative of Dr. Jones,” said Eric Elliott, a 2002 graduate of Boise State who is currently a medical student in his surgery rotation at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Elliott recently learned that Jones’ endowment funded most of his Mountain States Tumor and Medical Research Institute (MSTMRI) Pre-medical Fellowship on biomedical research in 2001-2002.    “The MSTMRI Fellowship was an excellent exposure to biomedical research — something that medical schools look for,” said Elliott. “I think that my MSTMRI experiences helped me to be competitive in applying at top-tier medical schools.”   Boise State pre-professional studies director Glenda Hill said the yearlong MSTMRI Fellowships and the Pre-med Summer Research Fellowship program, both funded by the Jones’ endowment, enable students to gain valuable experience as researchers. In addition to boosting their chances for medical school admission, the students benefit from being mentored by professors and other medical researchers, she said.  Student projects have ranged from understanding the immune component of asthma attacks to investigating tumor progression in prostate cancer.    Jones’ daughters, Judy Combs and Marcia Sands, said their father funded the fellowship programs pairing pre-med students with experienced researchers because “he wanted medical students or biology students to be the very best they can be.”   “He also wanted the professors to be the best,” said Combs and Sands. “Being a [1934] graduate of the Washington University [St. Louis] Medical School, which is one of the finest, he wanted to carry on that tradition.”   They also said their family members in Boise did not know their father’s secret until he passed away. “His anonymous gift was exactly who he was,” they said. “He was extremely humble, he was debonair, always meticulously dressed. He always wore a coat and tie to the hospital. …He was a very gentle man, a loving man, he was the epitome of a medical doctor.”   Jennifer Neil, Development Director of the Boise State Foundation, said Jones’ legacy will live on in his endowment, which will continue to fund pre-med research fellowships.   Community members who wish to carry on Jones’ work of helping aspiring pre-medical students may contribute to the Ralph R. Jones, M.D., FACS Endowment, Boise State University Foundation, 1910 University Dr., Boise, Idaho, 83725-1030.   -30-   Contact: Jennifer Neil, BSU Foundation, (208) 426-2927, jenniferneil1@boisestate.edu    Glenda Hill, College of Health Sciences at Boise State, (208) 426-3832, ghill@boisestate.edu                                                            Media Contact: Pat Pyke, communications and marketing, (208) 426-1987, ppyke@boisestate.edu