Jon Kabara is always thinking.

A charter professor of biomechanics (now osteopathic manipulative medicine) at MSUCOM from 1968 to 1987, Dr. Kabara was well known for his research on antibacterial properties of fats. In a day before liquid soap, he was locally infamous for his "ban the bar" program in Fee Hall, replacing germ-carrying solid soap with tissue-thin, one-use soap wafers.He's continued, since retirement, to serve as a consultant to the cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries (see lauricidin.com/kabara.htm).

He was also the spouse of Annette Kabara, the college's first and long-term budget officer. When she died in 1986, Dr. Kabara created the The Annette H. Kabara Memorial Endowed Fund, a scholarship for graduating MSUCOM students who are parents having faced special challenges. Many people in the profession donated to the fund in Ms. Kabara's honor, but Dr. Kabara did not let his efforts stop there.

He published Korkie's Cookbook, featuring the best recipes of the Kabara family, a household known for its love of good food. Escorting the reader through the book were sketches of the Kabaras' beloved Korkie, a Yorkshire terrier with a sophisticated palate and a quirky personality. Proceeds were added to the fund in Annette Kabara's honor.

Now Jon Kabara is thinking again. He and his wife Betty have, through MSUCOM's Office of Development, created a planned gift, a "charitable remainder unitrust" to support the college.

It's a smart move, according to Barbara Ball-McClure, MSUCOM's development officer. "The charitable remainder unitrust allows people to make a gift of appreciated assets in an amount larger than they might be able to in outright cash," she noted, "and it also helps to avoid estate taxes. The donor and family receive income from the trust, and then, at a certain point, it becomes the university's."

"This is a win/win situation for both the charity and the donor. It's provided a way for us to give to the college without depleting our future income. It gives us a safety net," Kabara said - further evidence he's always thinking!