DALLAS (July 8, 2015) – Doyle Glass supports research, loves art and hates cancer.

That trifecta of passions generated a $78,832 check presented to Children’s Medical Center Foundation as a result of the first annual Art to Beat Cancer event in Dallas held in May at the Miller Event Center at Southern Methodist University.

More than 80 works of original art were available for bidding – all originally acquired by Mr. Glass – and included traditional impressionist landscapes, figurative and abstract works, and contemporary figurative landscapes, sculpture and some of Mr. Glass’ own work of charcoal on paper.

He matched every dollar raised through the auction, all for the benefit of the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI). He began his commitment to the CRI in 2013 with a $50,000 gift following a tour with its director, Dr. Sean Morrison. He hopes to grow the endowment, named for his late wife, Kim Hazelwood Glass, who died of cancer in December at the age of 46, to $1 million through annual art auctions.

“I view cancer as the worst enemy because it’s now attacked and killed three close members of my family,” Mr. Glass said.

“My life’s goal is to kill cancer,” Mr. Glass continued, and he’s going after it with substantive endowments and art auctions for cancer research.

The SMU alumnus has already hosted three highly successful art auctions in Louisville, Ky., to benefit the James Graham Brown Cancer Center in that city; the event in Dallas, where he has now relocated, is a first, but not the last. He is already planning next year’s auction. This year’s local steering committee included Leslie Melson, Margaret Weinkauf, Bill Vanderstraaten, Kurt Pottkotter, Paul Stevenson and Andrew Snow.

Mr. Glass, a native of Midland, Texas, and a graduate of SMU and its Dedman School of Law, said he was attracted to CRI because of its focus on basic science as the best hope for finding new treatments.

“I started reading about CRI, and I thought, ‘How could this be more perfect?’ ” he said.

Dr. Kern Wildenthal, president of Children’s Medical Center Foundation, said Mr. Glass’ commitment to end cancer through his passion for art is inspiring. “Doyle has turned his own personal tragedies into a passion for advancing research into cancer. We welcome him back to Dallas and look forward to the growth of his signature Art to Beat Cancer event.”

Mr. Glass, whose father and grandmother died from lymphoma, said, “I am truly excited and grateful to bring Art to Beat Cancer to Dallas and to partner with the esteemed Children’s Research Institute. The cause is near to my heart, and I am honored to host this event in memory of my wife and all those who have lost loved ones to the disease.”

Christopher J. Durovich, president and CEO of Children’s Health, said Mr. Glass’ support of the CRI gets to the heart of the cancer puzzle by “funding the scientists who are seeking answers to fundamental questions every day in hope of finding better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for this devastating disease. We at Children’s Health are grateful for his foresight and commitment.”

Art To Beat Cancer

The Children’s Research Institute is a joint venture that builds upon the comprehensive clinical expertise of Children’s Medical Center Dallas and Plano and the internationally recognized scientific excellence of UT Southwestern. The institute has interdisciplinary groups of scientists and physicians pursuing research at the interface of cancer biology, regenerative medicine and metabolism – fields that hold uncommon potential for discoveries that can lead to groundbreaking advances in science and medicine. To learn more about the CRI, visit http://give.childrens.com/cri.