$1 million Oxley gift supports Department of Surgery

August 14, 2008

Former UofL Department of Surgery chair Hiram Polk, MD, is a man who has “earned the intense loyalty of a whole generation of surgeons,” says current chair Kelly McMasters, MD, PhD.

Polk inspires a similar devotion among friends—so much so that Jack and Debby Oxley convinced their family foundation to give $1 million to the Hiram Polk Surgical Endowment in the UofL School of Medicine.

The Oxleys, owners of the 2001 Derby winner, Monarchos, got to know Polk through his involvement in the thoroughbred industry. Polk also breeds and races horses, and both Jack Oxley and Polk have been on the board of The Jockey Club, the breed registry for all thoroughbred horses in North America.

“We’ve known Dr. Polk for about 10 years and have become great friends of him and his wife [surgeon Susan Galandiuk]. We admire his contributions to the thoroughbred industry and know him to be an outstanding surgeon,” says Jack. “He’s a great friend—intellectually supreme.”

The Oxleys say the gift from the Oxley Foundation is a challenge grant. They hope others will be inspired to donate to the Polk Endowment, which provides clinical and research support for a variety of areas in the department, including head and neck cancers, trauma, digestive and colorectal surgery, reconstructive surgery and cardiovascular surgery.

Polk’s former patients, students, colleagues and friends created the endowment in 2005 to honor his retirement from chair. Upon completion of the campaign, the department will be renamed the Dr. Hiram C. Polk Department of Surgery. So far, almost $3.5 million has been raised. The goal is to raise at least $5 million, says development director Phil Bloyd.

Polk, who chaired the department from 1971 to 2005, was one of the longest serving surgery chairs in the country and one of the most well-known and respected surgeons, says McMasters. During his tenure, he trained more general surgeons—nearly 230—than any other surgery chair in the country.

Under Polk, the department developed a leading trauma center and performed groundbreaking research in surgical infection and host response, microcirculation and surgical oncology, artificial heart and ventricular assist device research and the development of the world's preeminent hand surgery program.
But his greatest accomplishment, say colleagues, is how he shaped the careers of students, residents, fellows, and faculty members during his tenure at UofL.

“Hiram inspires by example but he is never hesitant to let his residents be intimidated by the potential consequences of an adverse outcome for a patient. He demands that you always put the patient first,” remembered former resident and UofL faculty member Michael J. Edwards, MD, professor and chair in the surgery department of the University of Cincinnati.

The Oxley Foundation was created in 1986 by Jack’s father, John Oxley. The two founded Oxley Petroleum in 1962 in Oklahoma, and Jack sold the company in 2003.

Debby, a native Louisvillian, received her master’s degree in special education from the College of Education and Human Development in 1978. She earned law degree from the University of Tulsa in 1982 and was employed by ARCO Oil & Gas Company with assignments in Louisiana and Texas. Since retiring, the couple focus their efforts on their horse farm, Fawn Leap, where they have 55 broodmares, and their children and grandchildren.

Dr. Hiram Polk, former chair of the Department of Surgery, with his Thoroughbreds