To accomplish something truly great within a lifetime is a goal achieved by few. To accomplish something significant enough to extend beyond one’s lifetime is truly extraordinary. Jim and Virginia have achieved this not once, but repeatedly, in the lasting legacies of American Century Investments, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and BioMed Valley Discoveries.
American Century Investments, which Jim founded in 1958, is one of the world’s top asset management firms. His vision was to create a company dedicated to integrity, performance, and service all focused on one objective: helping investors reach their financial goals. The success of American Century allowed them to envision a way to give back to those who had made their lives so meaningful – to make a significant contribution to humanity through medical research by expanding our understanding of the secrets of life through innovative approaches to the causes, treatment and prevention of diseases.
Jim trained as a physician before pursuing a career in the asset management industry. Virginia was a former nurse. The couple had a profound understanding of the role that basic biomedical research plays in generating new therapies and saving lives. Both cancer survivors, as are their daughters, Kathleen and Linda, they began to pursue their grand vision to build an innovative, basic biomedical research institute. And they decided to build it in their hometown of Kansas City.
Now, decades later, their vision has become a reality. Widely recognized as one the world’s most influential centers for basic research, the Stowers Institute has built a stellar reputation on the cornerstones of imagination and tenacity upon which it was founded. The couple went one step further and established BioMed Valley Discoveries to accelerate the translation of promising research into clinical practice.
Through the legacies of the institutions they built, Jim and Virginia did not seek publicity or acclaim. Instead, they sought to bring people around the world "Hope for Life."