UVM alumni Sam ’68 and Janet Gordon Bain ’69 have made over $1 million in new commitments to support the Osher Center for Integrative Health and Bain Family scholarship funds in the Grossman School of Business and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. With this gift, the Bains continue to build on their legacy of leadership and philanthropic support for their alma mater.
The Bain Family Integrative Health Fund will support the research and activities of UVM’s Osher Center for Integrative Health. The new, institution-wide center will bring together practitioners, researchers, and educators from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the Larner College of Medicine, and the UVM Medical Center to provide patient care, conduct research, and teach best practices in the rapidly-growing field of integrative health.
“I am passionate about integrative health care because it offers alternative treatments to the traditional medical/disease model currently practiced by many health care providers,” said Janet. “As a Reiki Master Teacher, RN, BSN, MSN, I have participated in a volunteer Reiki program at a Boston hospital and have seen the benefits on hospitalized patients of a complementary therapy promoting rest, relaxation, stress reduction, and ultimately healing. A holistic approach to health care addresses medical as well as behavioral therapies, improving quality of life and decreasing health care costs. It is my hope that the Osher Center at UVM will provide an awareness among the entire medical community of the benefits of integrative health care and address ways in which we educate nurses and other health care providers through a renewed educational framework, influencing the future of health care delivery and lifestyle changes.”
Three Bain Family endowed scholarships will provide support for graduate students and undergraduate Vermonters in the Grossman School of Business, and for undergraduate students in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The Bains believe that providing increased access to UVM through scholarship supports a rich diversity of perspectives that is at the heart of a UVM education.
“I wanted to provide strong support for student scholarships because, both for me and for the majority of UVM students, scholarships made it possible to participate in and capture the excellence of a UVM education,” said Sam. “It is also important to me to further all forms of diversity on campus—to include the opinions and viewpoints of students from all walks of life—by helping those needing financial aid.”
Janet earned a degree in nursing at UVM and an MS in community health nursing/education from Boston University. She is a Reiki Master and volunteer at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and she co-owned a gourmet food and gift store, Bean and Cod, in Falmouth, MA, for many years. Sam earned a degree in mathematics from UVM and an MSA from George Washington University. He founded Bainco International Investors in 1987 as a wealth management firm focused on holistic and objective asset management. He has given a lifetime of service to UVM, acting as a career mentor for students, joining the Alumni Advisory Council, and later serving as a member of the UVM Board of Trustees.
In 2006, Sam and Janet established the Bain Family Scholarship for students in the Grossman School of Business and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. They have generously supported countless initiatives across campus, including the renovation of UVM Alumni House in 2012. Funds from their most recent gift will also create the Samuel and Janet Gordon Bain Family Room at the Osher Center for Integrative Health and the Bain Multimedia Studio in the Grossman School’s Kalkin Hall.
To read more about the Bains, visit go.uvm.edu/bains.