History
The CBC was launched in December 2001 by the late Chicago philanthropist Dan Searle. Dan had a steadfast belief in the importance of scientific discovery, and he believed that collaboration among Chicago’s leading research universities was essential for both scientific and civic advancement.
Faculty members at Northwestern, the University of Chicago, and UIC were challenged to think of ways to foster collaboration. The task was to design a plan that pulled faculty from across the city into a connected intellectual community, reducing rivalries and encouraging cooperation. Dan indicated that very substantial funding could be available for a proposal that passed muster.
This was quite visionary and innovative. Sylvia Manning, then the Chancellor at UIC, described the concept as “revolutionary” and “irresistible.”
In 2002, with a Planning Grant from The Chicago Community Trust, work began to turn a concept into reality. Each university sent representatives to form a city-wide Strategic Planning Group. Many ideas were considered at many meetings. Many busy faculty members donated many hours to the process. Key faculty leaders of the Strategic Planning Group were Rick Morimoto (Northwestern), Brenda Russell (UIC), and Jonathan Silverstein (University of Chicago). At the request of the University of Chicago and Northwestern provosts, Brenda Nelms and Katie Stallcup also played an active role in the development of the CBC.
The Strategic Planning Group settled on a name for the organization in the making – Chicago Biomedical Consortium (or CBC), on its logo, and on a mission statement. The mission includes both short-term goals and hoped-for longer-term impacts, and is the framework for all CBC programs and activities.
In 2003, the CBC submitted a proposal to The Chicago Community Trust for an ambitious Demonstration Project. The project was designed to demonstrate the ability of the three universities to work together in selecting a major piece of research equipment that would be useful to a broad range of scientists. The instrument cost almost a million dollars, and the first test of ‘community spirit’ was to cooperatively decide which one university would get to own the instrument, while also providing wide access to it.
The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust made a grant of $1.5 million in 2004 to fund the Demonstration Project. As a sign of institutional commitment, each provost agreed to contribute an additional $150,000. By late summer of 2005, the CBC Proteomics and Informatics Service Facility was up and running at UIC.
The Searle family is committed to involved and informed philanthropy. In particular, the CBC was very fortunate to have the advice and guidance of Nancy S. Searle during its formative years, up until late 2010. On behalf of the Searle Consultants to The Chicago Community Trust, Ms. Searle assembled a team of outside experts to evaluate the performance of the Demonstration Project. These experts concluded that the CBC deserved additional operating funding.
In 2006, the CBC received a grant of $5 million per year from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust. The grant provided operating funds for 2006 through 2011.
Since 2006, the CBC has made awards in a variety of program areas. While most of the awards are designed to foster collaborative research, CBC also supports faculty recruitment and a variety of educational programs. All awards are made on the basis of scientific merit, innovation, and impact, and are described elsewhere on the website.
While the CBC operates with the much-appreciated guidance and support of the university provosts, it remains a grass-roots-style organization. There is a Scientific Director from each university, and they provide leadership for the overall enterprise. Advisory boards provide the peer review that assures the merit of funded projects. Members of the Searle family, along with 3 prominent out-of-town scientists, serve on the CBC’s External Advisory Board, which meets yearly.
Cutting-edge research typically takes several years to come to real fruition, but even so, CBC can point to major accomplishments as of July 2011:
- The CBC has maintained broad faculty involvement.
- 37 collaborative projects of exceptional creativity and impact have been funded.
- 8 outstanding new faculty members have joined the Chicago research community.
- Over 320 research papers have been published on CBC-funded work.
- Three National Research Centers have been established in Chicago with the help of the CBC.
- And the CBC has generated impressive leverage, meaning that for every dollar CBC has “invested,” about 7.6 additional dollars have come into the Chicago economy.
The CBC was evaluated by outside consultants again in late 2009. Based on the outcome of this review, the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust renewed operational funding for another five years, from 2011 through 2015.
The vision, commitment, and generosity of the Searle family, working with The Chicago Community Trust, has made the CBC possible. It is very unusual for private philanthropists to have the interest and wherewithal to support basic research. Chicago is fortunate indeed to have this special kind of donor in our city. The CBC is also deeply grateful to the CBC universities (Northwestern, UIC, and the University of Chicago), which have provided extensive, ongoing support of the CBC enterprise.
Perhaps as an indication of the longevity of the CBC effort, a number of leadership transitions have accompanied the beginning of the CBC’s second phase. Jonathan Silverstein and Brenda Russell, “Founding” Scientific Directors, have retired from the CBC. Susan Lindquist and Nancy Searle, original members of the CBC’s External Advisory Board, have also retired from CBC service. All their efforts are greatly appreciated, and the founders can be confident that the enterprise they launched remains robust.