When Deborah VanderVeen, M.D., conceived of a scholarship to benefit KU School of Medicine-Wichita students, she wanted to both honor her parents and make a permanent impact.

VanderVeen decided to use a retirement account she inherited from her parents, Charles and Melodee Schaefer, toward the establishment of the Schaefer-VanderVeen Medical Diversity Scholarship. She committed to matching the $25,000 inheritance and plans to continue to contribute to the fund.

“I felt like it was time for me to give back to the school where I did my training and the community where I grew up,” VanderVeen said.

The scholarship will support minority students on the Wichita campus. The first award will be drawn from the initial donation, which totals $50,000. However, she plans to commit to a total gift of $100,000, which will establish an endowed fund. That means the scholarship will continue to be awarded in perpetuity.

The gift references different aspects of VanderVeen’s life story. A graduate of Northwest High School, she attended KU School of Medicine-Wichita after earning her undergraduate degree from Kansas State. She has two adopted children who were born in Guatemala and are Indigenous people.

“In the past few years, we have come to understand that equality does not necessarily mean equity,” VanderVeen said. “This scholarship recognizes that people of color often come from a place of inequity.”

After graduating from medical school in 1993, VanderVeen completed an ophthalmology residency at Boston University Medical Center, followed by a fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, where she now serves as a pediatric ophthalmologist and director of the pediatric cataract service. She is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a researcher who has authored or co-authored more than 100 journal articles.

VanderVeen primarily treats children with a range of vision problems.

“My favorite part of my job is seeing children, because they’re so entertaining,” VanderVeen says in a video for Boston Children’s Hospital. “They make my day happier.”

Pictured above, at left: Deborah VanderVeen, M.D.,