By Scot Macdonald, PhD

If there is one person without whom the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute would not exist, it is Ms. Maxine Dunitz. With a gift of five million dollars, she was instrumental in founding the Institute in 1997 and has been a generous and involved supporter ever since.

Dunitz's philanthropy, however, began long before 1997. Born in Chicago, she came to Los Angeles in 1937. In the late 1940s, she began her volunteer involvement with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center before it was even Cedars-Sinai. As a teenaged bride, she joined her aunt, who was a founding member of Helping Hand, volunteering at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital years before it joined with Mount Sinai Hospital. Her first leadership role was as President of the Helping Hand Auxiliary at Cedars of Lebanon. She also served as a founding member of the Imperial Grand Sweepstakes, where she served as event Co-Chair for two years.

Ms. Dunitz continued her involvement on the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Board of Governors through the Sports Spectacular and was then elected Chairman of the Board of Governors. During her tenure, she worked closely with the Cedars-Sinai Health Associates in conducting information tours and programs, which evolved into the current Healthcare College. She also was the guiding force behind acknowledging the contributions of past chairs of the Board of Governors by erecting a permanent plaque in the Medical Center listing all past chairmen by name.

More recently, Ms. Dunitz became an integral supporter of the Medical Center's Campaign for the 21st Century. She helped create and chaired for two years the Coordinating Council at Cedars-Sinai and served as chair of numerous fund-raising events for the Gold Circle.

She was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the Medical Center and became a Life Trustee in 1999.

She and her late husband Jerry, who was a real estate developer, established the Gerald and Maxine Dunitz Fellowship for the Division of Cardiology under the direction of P.K. Shah, MD. Since then, she established four additional fellowships in memory of Jerry through the Save-A-Heart Foundation.

In 1997, after meeting Keith L. Black, MD, impressed by his work and research and recognizing a special need for the community and for Cedars-Sinai, she established the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute under the direction of Dr. Black. The Institute is dedicated to advancing the field of neurosurgery and providing leading-edge, compassionate clinical care while conducting unparalleled research for a full range of neurologic disorders.

Maxine Dunitz is also involved in a broad range of community and civic activities. She is a Founding Family of Steven S. Wise Temple, a member of the Music Center Founders and a member of the Blue Ribbon Committee.

Ms. Dunitz has three daughters and five grandchildren.