Retired surgeon Dr. Samuel Labow and his wife Michelle, a retired registered nurse, have pledged current and estate gifts estimated at over $5 million to the Department of Surgery at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. An initial gift of $350,000 will fund the Samuel B. and Michelle D. Labow Green & Gold Professor in Colon & Rectal Surgery and the Samuel B. and Michelle D. Labow Lectureship in Colon & Rectal Surgery. A trust established by the Labows will in the future provide significantly more support to the Department of Surgery.

"This generous gift is an incredible honor," said Steven R. Shackford, M.D., Stanley S. Fieber Professor and Chairman of Surgery. "It is especially meaningful that Sam and Michelle Labow, who are familiar with so many programs around the country, chose to focus their philanthropy here at UVM. They have a strong belief in our missions of education, research, care and community, and working with them has been inspiring."

Neil Hyman, M.D., Professor of Surgery and Chief of General Surgery, has been named the first Samuel B. and Michelle D. Labow Green & Gold Professor in Colon & Rectal Surgery. The Labows have high praise for both Drs. Hyman and Shackford.

"Following my retirement from surgery and move to Stowe, I began attending surgical conferences and became involved with teaching UVM medical students at the invitation of Dr. Hyman," said Dr. Labow, who also is a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the UVM College of Medicine. "I was immediately impressed by the superb quality of the education and training of surgical residents under the leadership of Dr. Shackford. Since then, I have become more and more impressed with the quality of the surgical department, which led Michelle and me to devote our resources here." Dr. and Mrs. Labow retired to Stowe ten years ago after working together more than 20 years in a colon and rectal surgery practice at North Shore University Hospital in New York, where Dr. Labow was also Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at Weill Medical College at Cornell University. A native of Montreal, Dr. Labow earned his bachelor of science and medical degrees from McGill University. After an internship at Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, he completed residencies in general surgery at Ottawa Civic Hospital, Harvard University-Beth Israel Hospital, and New York University-Bellevue Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, N.J. Mrs. Labow was born in New York City and as a registered nurse, pursued a career in the operating room. She joined Dr. Labow’s surgical practice and eventually left the operating room to take over the management of the practice. Throughout their careers, they both served in national leadership positions in professional societies, including the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, for which Dr. Labow served as president from 1993 to 1994.

Dr. Hyman, a resident of South Burlington, earned a medical degree from the University of Vermont and completed a surgical internship and residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, followed by a colon and rectal surgical fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Since joining the UVM faculty in 1990, Dr. Hyman has earned eight teaching awards.

"I am so grateful to the Labows for their ringing endorsement of the quality of our medical school and especially our Department of Surgery," said College of Medicine Dean John N. Evans, Ph.D. "This gift serves as a testimony to the relationship between Drs. Shackford and Hyman and the Labows, who have formed an active partnership that benefits our students, our patients and our community."