On May 23, 2017, the Duchossois family announced a gift to the University of Chicago Medicine of $100 million – including $50 million from The Duchossois Family Foundation and $50 million from Janet and Craig Duchossois. This transformational gift has allowed UChicago Medicine to explore how the human immune system, bacteria in the body, and genetics interact, and how those relationships can be harnessed to promote wellness and reduce disease. In October 2017, UChicago Medicine celebrated the opening of the Duchossois Family Institute.

Looking back, the connection between The Duchossois Family Foundation and UChicago Medicine spans almost 40 years, inspired by the care that matriarch Beverly Thrall Duchossois received when she was treated for cancer in the late 1970s. Throughout the decades the Foundation and UChicago Medicine have enjoyed and cultivated an ever-evolving philanthropic relationship through continued dialogue, education, research, and self-reflection.

In 2014, upon the passing of family member R. Bruce Duchossois, also to cancer, the Foundation was bequeathed a gift that generously increased its endowment, positioning the board to continue its strategic philanthropy with greater capacity. This allowed the board to take greater risk and be bold about what this next transformational gift would look like.