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NEWS + NOTES
friends Chairs of Distinction
The Steven C. Gordon Family
Foundation has pledged a gift to the
Department of Neurology in the David
Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
to establish the Steven C. Gordon
Family Chair in Parkinson’s Disease
Research. The Gordon family
graciously made the donation in
Photo: Courtesy of UCLA
memory of Steven Gordon’s father,
Health Sciences Development
Benjamin Gordon, who was afflicted
with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Carlos Portera-Cailliau,
professor in the Movement Disorders Program in the
Department of Neurology, has been selected as the
inaugural chair holder. The department celebrated the
Gordon family’s gift and Dr. Portera-Cailliau’s appointment
on May 19, 2014, with both Mr. Gordon and Dr. Portera-
Cailliau in attendance, along with their family and friends.
This important philanthropic contribution will provide
long-term teaching and research support for distinguished
faculty in the Department of Neurology.
(From left) UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, Dr. John C. Mazziotta (RES ’81, FEL ’83), chairman of
the UCLA Department of Neurology, Steven Gordon and Dr. Carlos Portera-Cailliau.
Photo: Todd Cheney/UCLA Photography
In Memoriam
numerous UCLA programs. Most recently,
she donated $500,000 to establish Paula’s
PetPal Place within the UCLA People-Animal
Connection Program. The new service will
allow patients who are hospitalized for
extended periods of time to reunite with their
own family pets in a specially designated
exterior space at Mattel Children’s Hospital
UCLA. Meehan, founder of Redken
Laboratories, used her success to the
benefit of people and animals.
Paula Kent Meehan
Photo: Bill Knapp
A thousand mourners gathered on July 5,
2014, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in
Glendale, California, to pay their respects to
Paula Kent Meehan, who passed away on
June 23, 2014. A dedicated philanthropist,
Meehan was a generous contributor to
50 U MAGAZINE
Elizabeth Smagala Tate passed away on June
8, 2014, at the age of 38, after a 13-month
battle with breast cancer. She attended the
UCLA School of Law and met her husband
Phil Tate during her time at UCLA. After
graduating, she worked for two members
of Congress and California Gov. Gray Davis.
Most recently, she was in-house counsel at
Kilroy Realty Corporation. Smagala Tate grew
close to her care team at UCLA Breast Center,
Santa Monica, during her treatment, and
the family generously requested gifts in her
memory to support the center.
On April 8, 2014, Robyn Faye Weinstein
passed away at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical
Center. The daughter of Susan Pondfield
(William Mentlik) and the late Dr. Mark
Weinstein, she also is survived by siblings
Dr. Stacey Weinstein, in residency at the David
Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Carly
Mentlik and Jacob Mentlik. Robyn Weinstein’s
family created the Robyn Faye Weinstein
Memorial Fund for Liver Transplantation as a
lasting tribute to her life and to her unending
desire to help others. Contributions of family
and friends will help other liver-transplantation
patients have a bright and productive future.