Former Texas Gov. William P. "Bill" Clements Jr. has given $10 million to Southwestern Medical Foundation to complete the construction and equipping of a new state-of-the-art research and clinical building, featuring modern imaging technologies, at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The UT System Board of Regents today approved the naming of the Biomedical Research and Advanced Imaging Building at UT Southwestern as the "Bill and Rita Clements Advanced Medical Imaging Building," in recognition of the significant contributions to higher education and academic medicine of Gov. Clements and his wife. It will house some of the world's largest and most sophisticated imaging equipment - including one of the nation's first 7-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging devices for human studies - and will encourage collaborative research efforts among UT Southwestern and other institutions to accelerate research into new diagnostic tests and treatments for debilitating neurological and metabolic illnesses.

"We have been supporters of UT Southwestern since its early years, and I've always been proud of my association with the medical center, which I regard as an important asset to the state of Texas," said Gov. Clements, whose gift will benefit the medical center's $500 million Innovations in Medicine campaign. "The new building will be a great addition to the campus, and we're happy to be a part of the future of biomedical research in this way."

UT Southwestern president Dr. Kern Wildenthal called Gov. and Rita Clements "true champions of Texas, higher education and medical science."

"This gift is monumental, and it will transform UT Southwestern's clinical and research programs in the most exciting area of medicine for the 21st century," Dr. Wildenthal said. "We are profoundly grateful for the extraordinary leadership of Bill and Rita Clements, whose generosity will enable us to complete a building that will be the envy of the rest of the country."

William T. Solomon, chairman of the Innovations in Medicine campaign and chairman of Austin Industries, said, "Bill and Rita Clements have always been innovators, and so it's especially fitting that this extraordinary gift enables the completion of the most cutting-edge facility on UT Southwestern's campus."

Dr. Craig Malloy, holder of the Richard A. Lange Chair in Cardiology and medical director of the new Advanced Imaging Research Center, which will be housed in part of the Clements Building, said, "The basic science and clinical impact of advanced imaging is widely agreed to be a critical element of new approaches to patient care. The new building will provide a dramatic expansion of imaging research and clinical capabilities at UT Southwestern."

The Clements Building - the latest addition to the UT Southwestern North Campus - will also house the Mary Nell and Ralph B. Rogers Magnetic Resonance Center, established in 1991 to provide MRI diagnostic tests for UT Southwestern patients.
 

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