Adam Blum
Adam Blum, a devoted UT alumnus (Business Honors and MPA 2006) and active supporter of The University of Texas, wants to see the university excel. As an undergraduate, he enjoyed participating in student leadership organizations such as the Texas Blazers. He received the prestigious Barbara Jordan Award for his leadership contributions to the McCombs School of Business.
As an alum, Blum remains dedicated to the university. He is a member of the UT System Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, an observer on the McCombs Advisory Council, a member of the Longhorn Foundation Advisory Council, and he serves on the University Development Board. Blum is the kind of person who excels at building connections between people, organizations and ideas.
One of his closest friends, Frank Denius, introduced Blum to the idea of bringing a medical school to Austin. Denius and Blum first met through a shared love of Texas football. They began traveling together to all of the away games, forming a close bond. It was during this time that Blum learned of Denius’ desire to see a medical school built in Austin.
For 50 years, Denius served as one of the lead champions for establishing a new medical school in Austin. His tireless devotion to this vision inspired Blum.
“I always thought there was a void,” Blum says. “If we’re the flagship university in Texas and we’re the best public university in the country, why don’t we have our own medical school?”
In November 2012, Travis County taxpayers voted to increase property taxes to support a medical school at UT Austin. After the historic passage of Central Health Proposition 1, Denius encouraged Blum to take a closer look at how he could become involved with the new Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin.
Denius and the Dell Medical School development team connected Blum to Clay Johnston, inaugural dean, 2014-2021. After meeting Johnston, Blum’s enthusiasm for Dell Medical School grew even more.
“I think the turning point was when I met with Clay. Clay has a gift in that he can articulate a vision he has in his head in a way that somebody like me who has no concept for medical education can fully understand and grasp the magnitude and importance of it,” Blum says. “He was a major factor in me understanding why this [medical school] is meaningful.”
Blum wanted to support Dell Medical School in whatever way he could. “Being involved takes on hundreds of definitions; it doesn’t just mean one thing,” he says. “If I can’t write you an eight-figure check, what can I do right now to help you and do the most that I can to inspire and encourage folks like me to do more?”
Blum started reaching out to fellow businesspeople and others who might be interested in the entrepreneurial aspect of the medical school. Blum and Denius began hosting luncheons where these influential members of the community could meet Johnston and hear his vision for how Dell Medical School will rethink everything about health care.
“[Dell Medical School] is a very meaningful and significant thing, and people understand that when they come and hear Clay talk. They understand what it’s going to be for the community and the university,” Blum says. “Being involved in health care is not a necessary requirement for caring about health care.”
In April 2015, Blum stepped into a leadership role once more, encouraging his friends and colleagues to give leadership-level gifts during the medical school’s first year of participation in the 40 Hours for the Forty Acres campaign. The campaign was a success, raising over $21,000 — more than double the amount originally expected.
With his business background and mindset, Blum says he’s proud to be a part of something on the ground level that could have major returns for the university and the city of Austin.
“Dell Medical School is going to add value to all of medicine and health care,” he says. “Maybe we cure disease. Maybe we revolutionize some process that saves the industry millions of dollars. Maybe we turn federal laws that make health care really inefficient on their heads. But the thing is, we have the opportunity to do anything we want. I hope Dell Med seizes the opportunity.
Published May 2018