1120 South Drive
Fesler Hall 302
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5114
317-274-5000
Web: http://medicine.iu.edu
She’s a petite woman in her 80s, but don’t be deceived. Marilyn Glick’s personality and drive are anything but small.
Sitting at the kitchen table in her Indianapolis home, Marilyn is animated, personable, and down-to-earth as she shares intimate details of her life that span from her adoption as an infant to meeting her beloved husband, Gene. She discusses the challenges of thoughtful philanthropy and speaks with fervor about her latest project – the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Loyalty is another of Marilyn’s traits – measurable by her 28 years of service to the nonprofit organization Prevent Blindness Indiana. She also feels loyalty to Indiana University, the alma mater of Gene, three of their four daughters, and four of their grandchildren. Marilyn believes IU has the potential to change the course of eye research with the promise of improving the quality of life for millions who suffer from vision loss.
In April, Marilyn and Gene announced they would donate $30 million – the largest single philanthropic gift they’ve given – to establish the eye research institute at IU.
“I think this was an appropriate gift for us if you figure I’ve spent more than a quarter-century working to prevent blindness,” Marilyn says. “We have a long-standing relationship with IU. Gene credits his business success to his IU education. And our interest in the School of Medicine is based on our belief that something big can happen here.”
Marilyn has made quite a name for herself among local nonprofit and philanthropic circles. She’s lent her time and expertise to numerous groups, capitalizing on the organizational and strategic skills she honed while working at Indianapolis Life Insurance Company, and later when she partnered with Gene, first selling real estate, and later in their building business. But to fully understand Marilyn’s zest for philanthropic endeavors, you have to go back to her childhood in Detroit.
Her adoptive father was interested in many causes, including the Jewish National Fund, an organization responsible for planting forests throughout the desert land that is now Israel. It was for this that Marilyn’s father brought home a light blue collection canister and bouquet of matching felt daisies and presented Marilyn with a challenge. At the young age of 7, she successfully collected donations for the JNF from all 33 residents of their apartment building, giving each donor a felt daisy in return.
A few days later, Marilyn traveled with her mother to nearby Mount Clemens, Mich., a famous spa destination because of its healing mineral waters. Here, she was able to fill her canister again with donations from spa-goers, collecting more money than any other JNF volunteer that day. The next issue of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle included a picture of Marilyn, the youngest JNF volunteer, citing her success in Mount Clemens. Her first foray into fundraising was so successful she was hooked for life.
Years later in Indianapolis, her business acumen, creativity, and personable nature meshed as she raised money for the United Way and organized membership drives for North Group of the Indianapolis Symphony Women’s Committee and Young Audiences. She also developed an auxiliary for The Borinstein Home, now called Hooverwood.
Marilyn’s involvement with Prevent Blindness Indiana began in 1979, when an acquaintance invited her to join the board. Even though the invitation didn’t interest her at the time, she agreed to serve as an advisor. Realizing PBI’s need for money and recognition, Marilyn embarked on a fundraising mission and founded the auxiliary People of Vision.
She still chairs the POV membership committee, and takes a break from our interview to return phone calls related to the current membership drive. She’s especially proud of the life membership endowment program she inaugurated in 2005 to celebrate People of Vision’s 25th anniversary.
The irony of all of this is that Marilyn had no particular interest in Prevent Blindness when she first got involved. “But after spending all my free time working for this cause,” she says, “getting interested in eye disease research was a natural evolution.”
A few years ago when she and a group of POV members visited the IU School of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology, Marilyn was immediately impressed with the quality of research and the potential for collaboration among scientists of multiple disciplines. Her enthusiasm for the work there was equaled by her concern about the facilities.
“You can’t attract the best scientists and expect them to work in such cramped and limited facilities,” she says.
But facilities aren’t the only issue, says Linda Cantor, senior associate development officer for the School of Medicine.
“There’s no dearth of research at the School of Medicine, but we lack endowed positions, so $10 million of the Glick’s generous gift will initiate an endowment fund. To fully take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Glick Eye Institute, we will raise an additional $30 million in endowed funds, allowing us to recruit the very best researchers.”
As the interview with Marilyn winds down, the other half of the Glick duo walks into the kitchen looking for his wife. He’s dressed sharply in a suit, sports a broad smile, and greets his School of Medicine visitors with a hug. Before heading to his office, Gene asks for Marilyn’s help with his eye drops. It’s a fitting moment for this particular conversation.
In 1947 Gene and Marilyn started the Gene B. Glick Company to build and manage low- and moderate-income housing. The company grew into a multi-million-dollar business and the Glicks are respected throughout the home-building industry for their integrity. The success of their business has allowed the couple to donate major gifts, making them two of Central Indiana’s most generous supporters.
“We have gotten where we are because of Indianapolis and Indiana,” says Marilyn. “We want to give back to Indiana and to support things that will serve a large number of people. We like getting behind endeavors that might not happen otherwise,” she explains.
Marilyn’s expectations for the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute at the Indiana University School of Medicine are high. “I want to see a breakthrough in a currently unsolvable problem like glaucoma or macular degeneration. People shouldn’t have to go through life with loss of vision,” she says emphatically.
“There are other eye institutes, but I want IU to be known as the best,” declares Marilyn. If she has anything to do with it, it will be.
