Meet donors

Ensuring Excellence in Education and Income for Life

Mariane Bafile ’85D (PDC), ’87D (PDC) received financial support to attend the University of Rochester’s Eastman Institute for Oral Health and was the first woman in the prosthodontic residency program and the first woman to hold a faculty appointment in that division. Now she is giving back through a combination of annual fund gifts, outright campaign gifts, and deferred charitable gift annuities that will provide her a future income.

“I am deeply indebted to the University, and I am proud to be giving back both through my teaching and through my philanthropy,” she says. “I would not be the practitioner I am today without the training and support.”

The deferred charitable gift annuities she has established provide her tax benefits now, while allowing her to defer the income until retirement. A substantial portion of the fixed annuity payment will be tax-free income, an additional tax benefit. Because she is deferring payments until retirement, Dr. Bafile will be able to take advantage of a higher fixed rate of return. The longer the period that annuity payments are deferred, the greater the fixed income that the University of Rochester is able to pay.

“In working with the University’s Office of Trusts, Estates, & Gift planning, I learned there are many flexible ways to structure my giving,” she says.

Dr. Bafile completed a general practice residency in dentistry at the University of Rochester and went on to enter the prosthodontic residency program. “The faculty expected us, as students, to deliver exceptional care,” she says. “They held us to the very highest standards and educated us to provide the best treatment options for our patients. I have carried on these values throughout my career.”

Soon after completing her residency she was invited to join the faculty, following in the footsteps of other graduates who became both practitioners and mentors to current students. They helped shape the profession. She also established a Rochester-area practice that continues to thrive and serve patients today.

When The Meliora Challenge: The Campaign for Rochester was announced, Dr. Bafile readily offered her own financial help in support of the EIOH Prosthodontic Division and led former classmates to do the same. Dr. Bafile is ensuring that the Eastman Institute for Oral Health remains a world leader in research and post-doctoral education in dentistry. Her gifts will guarantee that students and faculty have access to the latest and most advanced facilities and technology.

“I’m glad for this opportunity to step up and help,” she says, “just as others stepped up for me.”