On Nov. 14, 2008, Dr. Larry J. Goodman, president and CEO of Rush University, and his wife, Mikki, welcomed about 80 faculty, alumni and guests to the Robert W. Sessions House for the Benjamin Rush Society Annual Celebration. Benjamin Rush Society Chairman Russell M. Petrak, MD 1980 (pictured left), welcomed more than 40 new members to the society, which now has more than 250 members. Also, Goodman and Dean Thomas A. Deutsch, MD 1979, gave guests the latest updates on Rush's campus transformation and the Campaign for Rush University Medical Center.

Deutsch also announced that the Executive Council of the Alumni Association had voted to make a $35,000 gift to the Dean's Summer Research Fellowship Program and a $50,000 gift to establish an endowed scholarship.

The next Benjamin Rush Society Celebration will be Oct. 16, 2009.  If you'd like more information about joining the society, contact Alysha Comstock, director of development and alumni relations, at (312) 942-7227.