Planned Giving Provides Opportunity

Charles Lucas, M.D., ’59 was the youngest of four sons of immigrant farmers. They didn’t have much, he said, but they had a strong work ethic, a deep sense that they should help others and a healthy respect for education.

Today, at 82, he is an internationally known surgeon who practices at the Detroit Medical Center and a full professor at Wayne State University. Over his career, he has published some 500 peer reviewed articles and book chapters that are regularly cited by researchers around the world, leading to improved patient care. In addition, he and his wife, Suzanne ’59, who he met on campus, had five children, three of whom hold a Detroit Mercy degree. For all this success, he received a Spirit of Detroit Mercy Alumni Achievement Award in 2017. All this started at University of Detroit.

“University of Detroit is a part of my being,” Lucas said. “It’s allowed me to get where I am and I would like to see all of the talented people who don’t want to leave town to be educated get an education in Detroit.”

That’s why Lucas included University of Detroit Mercy in his estate plans in two ways, benefiting both the College of Engineering & Science. He has provided a bequest in his will and made the University a beneficiary of his IRA.

“I added it up once and it cost me an average of $287.50 per semester to attend University of Detroit,” he said. “And I had the great fortune of being able to work and save to pay that money. That can’t be done now, with the high cost of college. And we, who are in a position to help need to recognize that and provide the opportunities of a Detroit Mercy education to those who otherwise might not have the opportunity.”