I was recently processing a binder that contained letters and photographs from a ceremony where Dr. Sabin was awarded the Spirit of Life Award from the City of Hope for his “contributions to mankind” for developing the oral polio vaccine. This banquet was held on September 3, 1986, and the proceeds went to establish a research fellowship in Dr. Sabin’s name at the City of Hope National Pilot Medical Center and the Beckman Research Institute. When accepting the award, Dr. Sabin spoke of the need for compassion in medicine and suggested the idea of a “total care physician” who could provide both medicine and compassion to their patients.

Dr. Sabin received many letters of congratulations from notable local politicians. Besides the letters, I also found a couple of photographs from the event, including the one seen below– Dr. Sabin with one of the speakers at the event, Dr. Frederick A. Hauck. The friendship between Dr. Sabin and Dr. Hauck is important to the history of the Winkler Center, so I thought I would share it for those that do not know about it.

A good friend of Dr. Sabin, Dr. Hauck was a well-known member of the Cincinnati community. He was president of several companies, including Hauck Exploration Company, as well as a generous philanthropist. One of Dr. Hauck’s main interests was in historic preservation. One of the most prominent sites that he helped to preserve was the Tyler Davidson Fountain on Fountain Square in Cincinnati. Dr. Hauck was also one of the main forces behind the establishment of the John Hauck Foundation, whose philanthropic efforts are seen throughout the city of Cincinnati and the surrounding area through many grants and scholarships.

Dr. Hauck and Dr. Sabin at the Spirit of Life Award Banquet

In 1995, the John Hauck Foundation helped the Cincinnati Medical Heritage Center (now the Winkler Center) to establish the Hauck Center for the Albert B. Sabin Archives. The five year grant provided funds for archivist Maggie Heran to organize and preserve Dr. Sabin’s collection. When the Hauck Center was established, Foundation Officer Carolyn F. McCoy remarked, “Having experienced the effects of polio within his own family, Dr. Hauck was both a friend and supporter of Dr. Sabin and we are very pleased to assist CMHC with the preservation of his historic research documentation.”

More recently, the Hauck Foundation has provided the Winkler Center with two additional grants that will help build modern facilities to preserve the history of medicine in Cincinnati. To be completed in September 2011, the new facility will allow the Winkler Center’s collections, including Dr. Sabin’s large archives, to be kept in an environmentally stable and secure space, which is critical for fragile materials as they age. A gallery in this new space will be called the John Hauck Foundation Gallery. These grants emphasize the Hauck Foundation’s continuing commitment to the Center by preserving the legacy of Dr. Albert B. Sabin.

To learn more about the most recent grant from the Hauck Foundation, please read the press release.

In 2010, the University of Cincinnati Libraries received a $314,258 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to digitize the correspondence and photographs of Dr. Albert B. Sabin. This digitization project has been designated a NEH “We the People” project, an initiative to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through the support of projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation’s history and culture and that advance knowledge of the principles that define America. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.