St. Francis Suite's East Room

Honored guests arrived at the Westin St. Francis Hotel on Union Square on the afternoon of June 26 for the Heritage Circle Tea, a biennial event to thank individuals who have included UCSF in their estate plans.

UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, MD, spoke to the more than 70 attendees about the development of the 43-acre Mission Bay site and its transformation in nine short years into a thriving biomedical research campus. UCSF Medical Center CEO Mark Laret then spoke on the Medical Center's acquisition of 14.5 additional acres immediately to the south and plans to construct a 289-bed women's, children's and cancer hospital complex. Laret described UCSF's vision of two comprehensive clinical and applied and translational research centers, one based on the Parnassus campus and the other at Mission Bay, and the transformation of the Mt. Zion campus into an outpatient center for clinical services.

Helen and Tom Clausen, J. Michael Bishop (standing) and Mark Laret

For information about making a planned gift or on how to become a member of the Heritage Circle, please contact the Office of Gift & Endowment Planning at 415/476-1475 or giftplanning@support.ucsf.edu.

Photos by Noah Berger