As a student in the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (COMS), now DMU, Anthony Korvas in 1966 raised the most funds among his classmates in sales of the osteopathic Christmas seal, then an annual competition among osteopathic colleges to generate support for student scholarships and research. Rather than pocket his cash prize, he donated it back to COMS.
The 1969 COMS graduate continues to show his gratitude to his medical alma mater. He and his wife, Cathy, recently established a $1 million charitable remainder trust through their estate.
“I am what I am because of what I got from this school,” says Korvas, who later served in the Army Medical Corps, retiring as a colonel. “When I went into the military, I interfaced with a lot of M.D.s. I felt I was much better prepared.”
Charitable remainder trusts are typically created with appreciated assets, such as stocks or real estate. The assets are then invested to produce income. The donor or designated beneficiary receives a portion of that income for a defined period, after which the trust assets go to the charity selected by the donor.
“The principal of the trust doesn’t disappear; it will someday benefit the University,” Korvas says. “The future of the University depends on endowment, funds that will be perpetuated through the years to enable the school to give future students what was given to me.”
He’s also given significantly to his community and profession, serving as a charter member and now fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and president of the Colorado Society of Osteopathic Medicine, among other roles. For many years he was a hospital inspector as well as chief medical examiner in Mesa County, CO, in which he was “basically an officer of the law” who investigated all the deaths in the county.
“I wanted D.O.s to be involved in these sorts of things to educate people. When they see you’re doing a good job, they feel comfortable with you,” he says. “That opens doors to
others in the future.”
