This Week Naming Dispute Prentis family contests name of well-known cancer center. ALAN AB RAMS Special to the Jewish News 80w0x.%. - , - • - • . . „ • 2 ' 0,4w, , 401 T he fight against cancer led by a nationally recognized research and treatment institute in Detroit's Medical Center could be overshad- owed by a legal dispute over who has naming rights to the entity. The struggle pits a family with a long legacy of philanthropy in health, educa- tion and Detroit Jewry's communal life against trustees of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, headquar- tered near Detroit's Harper Hospital. In one corner are the heirs of Meyer L. Prentis, the longtime treasurer of General Motors, who is widely credit- ed with helping Alfred Sloan Jr. build the automaker into the world's largest corporation. They appear to be on a collision course with the cancer center's trustees. Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute has been the name since July 1995, when Peter Karmanos Jr., CEO of Compuware Corp. of Farmington Hills, gave $15 million to a system created by the merger of four Detroit cancer agencies. The donation. was made to honor his wife Barbara, who died of breast cancer in 1989. But the Prentis family wants the institution renamed the Meyer L. Prentis Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit. The family made their first donations in 1970, following the death of Prentis from cancer. Naming Rights 271 WEST MAPLE 8/25 2000 20 DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM 248.258.0212 A letter sent to trustees of the Karmanos Institute this month by Mark I. Silverman, a Birmingham physician and attorney for the Meyer and Anna Prentis Family Foundation, cites the existence of a written contract signed by Wayne State University, Michigan Cancer Foundation and Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit Inc. Beginning in 1984. Silverman says the Foundation gave "substantial sums of money," totaling $1.5 million, in exchange for the Comprehensive Cancer Center being renamed "and henceforth known" as the Meyer L. Prentis Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit. Silverman alleges that unbeknownst to the trustees of the family founda- tion, the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit Inc. never changed its name. On July 31, 1994, a merger occurred between the Michigan Cancer Foundation and the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit Inc., with the resulting surviving entity being named the Michigan Cancer Foundation. Silverman asserts the orig- inal contract was legally binding on the merged entity. "The Prentis Family Foundation neither provided a release nor agreed to any amendment of the original binding contract. Therefore this and a subsequent name change were breech- es of the contract," wrote Silverman. Silverman, signing his letter as "attor- ney for Plaintiff," requests that the Karmanos board meet and change the corporation's name in accordance with the contract. He states that "defendants, including the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, will be served with the lawsuit documents soon," and sets a response date of Thursday, Aug. 31. What's In A Name? In a letter to Karmanos board mem- bers sent in response to Silverman's let- ter, Dr. William P. Peters, president, director and CEO of Karmanos Institute, asked that "these matters not be the subject of public discussion." Said Dr. Peters, "We are also pleased to include the name of the Meyer L. Prentis Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit on all the letterheads of both our research and clinical staff, research and clinical brochures, and education- al material and other places." A review of the letterhead shows the Karmanos name on top and the Prentis name at the bottom, appearing in small type. The Prentis name does appear on the cancer research building at 110 E. Warren in Detroit and is used with the National Cancer Institute, which has recognized it as one of nation's top cancer centers. That building was ded- icated in May 1973 by then First Lady Patricia Nixon. Why has the Prentis family waited so long to take action? Marvin Frenkel of Huntington Woods, treasurer of the foundation who is married to the former Barbara Prentis, one of the three surviv- ing daughters of Prentis, said: "Things happened in a manner other than a head-on confrontation. It was like bits and drips. It took some time to have a realization of what it was really about. "We hope this can be settled quick- ly to avoid any tarnish on the organi- zation's fight against cancer or its busi- ness practices. Our goal is to fight cancer," he added. A spokesperson at Compuware, on behalf of Peter Karmanos, said he did not think it appropriate to comment. Prentis And GM Meyer Prentis, who was born in 1886, came to America from Lithuania as a child. Arriving in Detroit in 1911, he soon became chief accountant and auditor for General Motors. He was promoted to comptroller in 1916 and, in 1919, became treasurer. He held that position for 32 years until his retirement in 1951. Prentis was the founder and first sec- retary-treasurer of the United Foundation for Greater Detroit, now the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. An early leader in the Jewish Welfare Federation, now the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, Prentis also served as a trustee of Temple Beth El. He is credited with having made possi- ble the founding of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York and the WSU School of Business Administration. In addition to the Cancer Research Center, evidence of the charitable endeavors of the Prentis family can be found across metro Detroit. These include: • The Meyer and Anna Prentis Building, which houses the School of Business Administration at Wayne State University in Detroit • The Helen Prentis Lande Medical Research building on the WSU campus • The Prentis nursing wing in the Marvin and Betty Danto Family Health Care Center on the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus in West Bloomfield • The Meyer and Anna Prentis Library and Sunday School at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township. • The former Meyer L. Prentis Jewish Home for the Aged, on Lahser Road in Southfield, which formerly was operat- ed by the Jewish Federation. ❑