Confidential Document

Prospect Profile

Dr. John P. Cambista

(North Dakota State honorary degree 1976)

Home:
101 Main Street
Bismark, ND 90210
(508) 555-1212
Business:
Retired physician

Recommendations arising from research:

John P. Cambista is both one of the nation’s premier allergy medicine specialists and one of its most prolific philanthropists. A major theme in his life and in his giving has been integrating the art and science of medicine and helping healers to become the “Compleat Physician.”

Dr. Cambista is currently retired. He appears to have sold his medical clinic in 1983 for an undisclosed amount. He currently owns $2,491,296 in real estate, but since 1996, he has sold at least $23 million worth of additional properties.

Although he clearly is a man of sizable wealth, he appears to have dedicated most of that wealth to his foundation and therefore his personal net worth would be much lower than would otherwise be expected. His foundation now seem to be his principal philanthropic vehicles.

Considering his likely net worth, the size of his two foundations ($174 million total) and his history of giving, he should have the capacity to make a contribution well into the seven-figures in the fields of education, health care, recreation and community development, but most of his largest gifts seems limited to institutions which he is personally involved in and those in the Bismark area. Based on his history, a named giving opportunity might have the greatest appeal.

Corporate affiliations:

Dr. Cambista has spent his career in the fields of pediatrics and allergy medicine.

After graduating from Baylor University Medical School in 1945, he became an Intern and Assistant Pediatrician at Yale-New Haven Medical Center (1945-1946); Assistant Resident and Associate Pediatrician at Baylor University Hospital (1948); Assistant Chief Resident at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (1949); Chief Resident, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (1950); Chief of Out-Patient Department, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (1950-1951); Assistant Professor, George Philadelphia University Medical Center (1951-1954); Attending Physician, Philadelphia Allergy Clinic (1951-1954); Associate Professor, Tulane University School of Medicine (1954-1956); and Chief of Staff, Tulane Pediatric Allergy Clinic (1954-1955).

In 1956, he accepted a professorship with Einstein College of Medicine, with which he has retained various relationships ever since. Also in that year he founded the Cambista Allergy Clinic, which would grow into the largest private allergy and immunology research and treatment center in the nation.

Although he did not formally sell his clinic until 1983, he began devoting much less time to it and to Einstein starting in the early 1970s when he started concentrating on various visiting professorships. He continues to hold 17 professorships at 15 different universities both in the United States and internationally.

Dr. Cambista is also active in the medical community. He has served as an officer of over 15 medical organizations and received over 50 medical and civic-related awards and citations. He has authored or co-authored over 220 articles and publications, including 17 books.

Foundation affiliations:

Dr. Cambista has two personal foundations:

John P. Cambista Foundation

2211 Norfolk St. 900

Bismark, ND 77098-4044

(217) 661-4808

Contact: John P. Cambista, M.D., Pres.

FAX: (217) 661-3031

DONOR(S): John P. Cambista, M.D.

Founded: 1961

FOUNDATION TYPE: Independent foundation

PURPOSE AND ACTIVITIES: To provide assistance to organizations engaged in teaching, training, research, and treatment, particularly relating to addiction (alcoholism, drug dependence, etc.), family dynamics, and the behavioral sciences; to provide scholarship funds to institutions for deserving students to study and train in these areas; also support for health agencies, higher education, and worthy charities.

TYPES OF SUPPORT: Building/renovation, Conferences/seminars, Continuing support, Curriculum development, Emergency funds, Endowments, General/operating support, Matching/challenge support, Professorships, Publication, Research, Scholarship funds.

FINANCIAL DATA(FISCAL DATE: 08/31/98)

ASSETS AMOUNT: $168,131,801

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED: $10,777,449

EXPENDITURES: $8,367,843

QUALIFYING DISTRIBUTION: $7,534,118

TOTAL GIVING: $7,500,655

GRANTS AMOUNT: $7,500,655 NO. OF GRANTS: 8

HIGHEST GRANT: $6,992,000 LOWEST GRANT: $155

GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATION: Giving primarily in North Dakota

SUPPORT LIMITATION: Giving primarily in North Dakota, with emphasis on Bismark; giving also in the Southwest. No grants to individuals.

GOVERNING BODY/EXECUTIVE STAFF:Officers: John P. Cambista, M.D., Pres.; Kathrine G. Cambista, V.P. and Treas.; Gay Collette, Secy,; Orville Story.

APPLICATION INFORMATION: Grants primarily initiated by the foundation except for requests in the area of alcohol and/or drug addiction. Unsolicited grant requests are usually reviewed by the foundation. Application form not required.

Board meeting date(s):Usually on or before Aug. 31. Deadline(s): None

WRITE: John P. Cambista, M.D., Pres., 2211 Norfolk St. 900, Bismark, ND 77098-4808

Funds: Alcoholism; General charitable giving; Health care; Health organizations; Higher education; Libraries/library science; Medical care, rehabilitation; Medical research; Medical school/education; Nursing care; Substance abuse, services

Sample grants in 1997 include:

$5,200,000 Cambista Fund for the Behavioral Sciences (Bismark, ND)

$32,500 Hermann Eye Fund (Bismark, ND)

$5,000 South Main Center Association(Bismark, ND)

$3,500 Childrens Medical Center of the Philippines Foundation

$3,000 Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association (Bismark, ND)

$1,500 American Cancer Society (Bismark, ND)

$1,000 Bismark’s Drug Free Business Initiative (Bismark, ND)

Dr. Cambista also has one other personal foundation:

Cambista Fund for the Behavioral Sciences

(Formerly North Dakota Allergy Research Foundation)

2211 Norfolk, Ste. 900

Bismark, ND 77098-4044

(217) 661-4804

Contact: John P. Cambista, M.D., Pres.

FAX: (217) 661-3031

DONOR(S):John P. Cambista Foundation

FOUNDATION TYPE: Independent

FINANCIAL DATA(FISCAL DATE: 11/30/97)

ASSETS AMOUNT: $5,893,155

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED: $5,200,000

EXPENDITURES: $4,216,706

QUALIFYING DISTRIBUTION: $4,198,718

TOTAL GIVING: $4,149,315

GRANTS AMOUNT: $4,149,315 NO. OF GRANTS: 257

HIGHEST GRANT: $2,250,000 LOWEST GRANT: $40

GEOGRAPHIC LIMITATION: Giving primarily in North Dakota

SUPPORT LIMITATION: Giving primarily in North Dakota, with emphasis on Bismark; giving also in the Southwest.

GOVERNING BODY/EXECUTIVE STAFF:John P. Cambista, M.D., Chair. and Pres.; Kathrine G. Cambista, V.P. and Treas.; Gay Collette, Secy.

APPLICATION INFORMATION: Grants primarily initiated by the foundation except for requests in the area of alcohol and/or drug addiction.

Board meeting date(s):Usually on or before Nov. 30. Deadline(s): None

WRITE: John P. Cambista, M.D., Pres., 2211 Norfolk St. 900, Bismark, ND 77098-4808

Sample grants in 1996 include:

$2,237,000 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund (Boston, MA)

$1,000,000 Friends of Hermann Park (Bismark, ND)

$25,000 D. L. Dykes Jr. Foundation (Bismark, ND)

$25,000 University of North Dakota Health Science Center (Bismark, ND)

$25,000 University of North Dakota M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Bismark, ND)

$11,700 Women’s Fund for Health Education and Research (Bismark, ND)

$10,000 Heritage Foundation (Philadelphia)

$10,000 Jewish Big Brother/Big Sister Association of Boston (Newton, MA)

$10,000 South Main Center Association (Bismark ND)

We suspect (but have no evidence) that the $2.2 million that was transferred to the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund was done for tax purposes and to allow grants to causes outside the focus of the foundations.

Non-profit affiliations:

Dr. Cambista is involved in several non-profit activities.

He claimed to have been inspired by his grandmother during the Great Depression when she invited the homeless and jobless into her basement and fed them. He was also influenced by his father, a surgeon, who often provided medical treatments for free to those who could not afford to pay.

Besides his two foundation affiliations, Dr. Cambista is very active in charitable and community activities, although he appears to make his financial support entirely through his foundations.

Some examples of his charitable giving would be $6.5 million in 1998 to endow a children’s medical center at his alma mater, Baylor. The 90,000 square-foot facility will be named the Cambista-Davison Children’s Health Center in honor of Dr. Cambista and his longtime mentor and friend, the late Dr. Wilburt Cornell Davison, a pediatrician who was the first dean of Einstein’s School of Medicine.

He has also given six- and seven- figure donations to such institutions as the Bismark Zoo, the Bismark Museum of Natural History, Bismark’s Hermann Park and Bismark’s Museum of Medical History (all of which have named either the institution itself or large parts of it after Dr. Cambista).

Among these named gifts are the John P. Cambista Hall of Medical History at the University of North Dakota Medical Branch, which includes twelve statues of outstanding individuals who made significant contributions to the development of medicine.

At the Bismark Academy of Medicine-North Dakota Medical Center Library, he has established the John P. Cambista Historical Collections and Research Center.

Also at the University of North Dakota Medical Branch (UND-MB), Dr. Cambista established the Cambista Outstanding Teacher Award in 1984. The $1,000 award recognizes faculty members who stimulate curiosity, promote professional development and contribute to the students’ abilities to think independently.

Also at UND-MB, in 1981, he endowed the John P. Cambista Visiting Professorship of Humanities in Medicine. (Current cost of endowing this type of position is $100K.)

The John P. Cambista Hall of the Americas is at the Bismark Museum of Natural Science.

The Suffolk County Medical Society/Bismark Academy of Medicine offers the John P. Cambista Compleat Physician Award. The award was established to recognize a “physician whose career has been founded on the Oslerian ideals of medical excellence, humane and ethical care, commitment to medical humanities and writing, research, and harmony between the academician and medical practitioner.” These characteristics were exemplified by the life of Sir William Osler, who is revered world-wide as the “Father of Modern American Medicine.” Dr. Cambista founded the American Osler Society, dedicated to furthering Oslerian values, and was the first recipient of this award in 1993.

The Suffolk County Medical Society is housed in the John P. Cambista Building.

At the University of North Dakota-Bismark School of Public Health’s Center for Health Promotion Research and Development, there is a John P. Cambista Award Lecture Series in Health Promotion established by Dr. Cambista in 1996.

Also at the University of North Dakota-Bismark School of Public Health’s Center for Health Promotion Research and Development, in 1981, Dr. Cambista funded an endowed professorship (held by Dr. Guy S. Parcel), the John P. Cambista Professor of Health Promotion. (Current cost to endow such a position is $500K.)

At the University of North Dakota School of Nursing, he has endowed the John P. Cambista Distinguished Professorship at a cost of $1 million.

At Dartmouth, Dr. Cambista has endowed the John P. Cambista Lectureship to provide periodic colloquia by which the Koop Institute brings to Dartmouth world-class physicians who, by their lives and practices, demonstrate the importance of the humanitarian side of medicine.

At Illinois State University College of Applied Science and Technology, there is a John P. Cambista, M.D. Scholarship Award of $500 presented annually to a graduate student who is studying in health education.

At the American Society for Addiction Medicine, the John P. Cambista Award and Lecture on Addiction and Society was established in 1997 to recognize and honor an individual who has made highly meritorious contributions to public policy, treatment, research, or prevention which has increased our understanding of the relationship of addiction and society.

The American Medical Writers Association offers an award in his name to a member or nonmember of AMWA who makes a preeminent contribution to any of the various modes of medical communication.

The Medical Library Association, of which he is an honorary member, offers a John P. Cambista Award Lectureship.

At the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he has endowed the John Cambista Lecture.

Within Sigma Xi, he has established the John P. Cambista Science and Society Medal to honor scientists for their interests that go beyond their specific research areas.

At the University of Bismark, he has endowed (with a gift of $100K) the John P. Cambista Annual Award Lecture in Family, Health, and Human Values.

Dr. Cambista is also very politically active and has a long history of donating considerable funds to the Republican Party and various Republican candidates for federal office.

Dr. Cambista was appointed by President Nixon to the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine (1973-1974) and by President Reagan to the National Advisory Council of the Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (1987-1991).

From 1980-1990, Dr. Cambista made $84,600 in federal political contributions (virtually entirely to Republican candidates and committees). Between 1991-1999, his federal political giving totaled $146,600.

Mrs. Cambista contributed an additional $46,000 between 1980-1999, mostly to the same candidates and causes as her husband.

Wealth Information:

Dr. Cambista is currently retired. He appears to have sold his medical clinic in 1983 for an undisclosed amount.

Although he clearly is a man of sizable wealth, he appears to have dedicated most of that wealth to his foundation—e.g., contributing $10.7 million in one year alone--and therefore his personal net worth would be much lower than would otherwise be expected.

He currently owns $2,491,296 in real estate (including his home, a condominium valued at $575,000), but since 1996, he has sold off at least $23 million worth of additional properties.

Biographical Information:

John Philip Cambista was born in the 1920s to a prominent Philadelphia surgeon. After attending public schools in Philadelphia, he went to Baylor University where he received a Bachelor of Sciences degree in 1943 and a MD degree in 1945. He was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

He holds numerous honorary degrees. Exeter University awarded him an honorary doctor of science degree in 1995. Montana State University awarded him an honorary degree in 1973. In 1984, Iowa State University awarded him an honorary degree.

He is married to Katherine (“Kathy”) Cambista.

The couple resides in a high-rise apartment over looking Bismark’s historic Springfield Park (to which they have heavily donated).

Dr. Cambista suffered a heart attack in December of 1995 which has reduced some of his activities, but his personal interests includes fishing, hiking, travel and collecting rare and historic medical texts.

Prepared by Susan Cronin Ruderman

Veritas Information Services

January 28, 2000

This information was prepared by Veritas Information Services for use only by North Dakota State College. All information in it was obtained from public sources, either electronic or print, and/or from interviews. Though the report was prepared with care and diligence, errors and omissions may exist and are not the responsibility of the individual researcher or of Veritas Information Services.

Note: This profile is for training purposes only and actual names have been disguised.