When Drue Jennings stepped down as chair of the KU Medical Center Advancement Board last May, it was with a great sense of accomplishment.

Since being appointed the Advancement Board’s first chair in 2004, Jennings spent a hectic four years recruiting, building and crafting the board’s membership. He was one of the first people contacted by University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who envisioned a civic board that would help KU Medical Center expand its reach within the Kansas City community.

Modeled after the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors in Houston, the Advancement Board is charged with furthering the interests of three key groups: The University of Kansas Hospital, KU Medical Center and Kansas University Physicians, Inc.

Forrest Hoglund was another of the board’s first members and chair of the Resource Development Committee from 2005 to 2007. A Texas resident, Hoglund was also the link between KU and M.D. Anderson. Although he lives out-of-state, Hoglund knows his fellow board members are visible in the community, making sure the entire 39th and Rainbow complex is represented in the legislature and answering questions at social events and community functions.

Currently, Advancement Board members are working diligently on two priorities. First, the board is committed to promoting the passage of the Johnson County Education Research Triangle ballot initiative. It is also raising money to further the University of Kansas Cancer Center’s quest to be designated a National Cancer Institute (NCI) comprehensive cancer center.

In assembling the Advancement Board, Jennings worked hard to make sure it reflected the diversity of the Kansas City community. The current 66-member board includes representatives from Kansas and Missouri, as well as several members who have a perspective beyond Kansas City’s borders. In other words, a Jayhawk affiliation is not required.

“I think we’ve got a great cross-section of the community represented,” Jennings said. “We have people from the University of Missouri, Kansas State and Saint Luke’s Hospital. This is the diversity we need to secure support from throughout the community.”

Cheryl Jernigan replaced Jennings as Advancement Board chair this past spring. As a longtime Kansas City resident, breast cancer survivor and wife of a prostate cancer survivor, Jernigan is personally invested in the board’s priority of achieving NCI designation.

“I have an interest in health care and an interest in Kansas City being seen as a great city,” Jernigan said. “If we have NCI designation, it brings more access to clinical trials and more researchers, and it opens the door to ramp up the scientific resources we already have in Kansas City and Kansas.”

Jernigan’s background reflects more than 30 years of experience in Kansas City’s corporate and volunteer arenas. She’s former senior vice president of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and past president of the Partnership for Excellence, a cooperative venture of several health insurance companies and hospitals. Jernigan is also past president of the Kansas City affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure breast cancer foundation and currently serves on Komen’s national board of directors. She has been a member of the Advancement Board since 2006 and a member of the KU School of Nursing Advisory Board since 1990.

“I’ve been involved with volunteering since an early age. There’s still a core in me that’s idealist and perfectionist. I want to work for a greater good,” Jernigan said. “In Komen, the vision is ‘A world without breast cancer.’ Now, that may not be achievable, but what’s the point in saying ‘Most of the world without breast cancer’? How is that inspiring?”

The Advancement Board may have set goals only slightly less lofty, but its members feel their goals can become a reality. With the promise of NCI designation and passage of the Johnson County Educational Research Triangle initiative within reach, Jernigan said the board is now beginning to fulfill its promise.

“Our first three or four years were preoccupied with the recruitment process,” Jennings said. “Our impact has yet to be measured. We’re at the point now where the heavy lifting can begin.” +