Scott Basinger, associate dean for community relations at Baylor College of Medicine, made an estate gift to the Don Faust Fund at Texas Children's Cancer Center in honor of his friends Sidney and Don Faust. Through his work establishing the Baylor Research Advocates for Student Scientists program, Basinger met the Fausts and began a partnership to support patients at Texas Children's Cancer Center. At a luncheon honoring the Fausts, Basinger was inspired to help the children at the cancer center. He worked with the Fausts and Texas Children's to start family retreats at the Fausts' ranch for patients and their families. Basinger has since donated funds to create

1. Baylor’s Dean for Community Relations Impacts Texas Children’s Cancer Center
By Travis H. McClain
Scott Basinger, Ph.D has recently made an estate gift to the Don Faust Fund at
Texas Children’s Cancer Center in honor of his friends Sidney and Don Faust. His
generosity serves to highlight not only his selfless nature, but also how the inspiration to
help others can arise from the example set by one’s close friends.
The story of how Dr. Basinger befriended the Fausts and developed a connection
with Texas Children’s is truly inspirational.
Basinger, or “Dr. Scott” as he is sometimes referred to around the Baylor College
of Medicine campus, is the associate dean for community relations at the college with a
tenure that has passed the twenty-year mark.
“Some years ago, in a conversation I had about philanthropy with my colleague,
Michael DeBakey, M.D., he remarked that anyone could buy a painting for a museum but
that investing in Baylor’s young scientists was an investment in one’s own future,” stated
Basinger. The inspiration that DeBakey’s words invoked led to Basinger’s founding of
Baylor Research Advocates for Student Scientists (BRASS) as a way to pique the interest
of Houston’s philanthropic community in supporting the work of these promising
researchers.
The creation of BRASS not only accomplished that goal with great success, but
also led to fortuitous events that would benefit the futures of young patients at Texas
Children’s Cancer Center as well.
Through BRASS, Basinger came to know and befriend philanthropists Sidney and
Don Faust. While attending a Cancer League of Houston luncheon in 1996 that honored

2. Mr. and Mrs. Faust’s contributions to cancer research, Basinger and the Fausts were
touched by testimonials from patients of Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Don Faust
immediately asked Basinger to help him find a way to help these children, and a shared
passion between two friends was soon born.
With a mandate in hand, Basinger contacted Susan Krause, Director of Program
Development for Texas Children’s Cancer Center. His first inclination was to ask her
about starting a camp for the patients of the cancer center. However, he was told that a
real impact could be made by starting a family retreat. “Since cancer is a family disease
this made so much sense. How great it would be if we could provide a little escape from
the routine that these kids and their families were going through,” stated Basinger.
For 10 years and counting, with Basinger playing head ranch hand, family retreats
are held at the Fausts’ Squirrel Creek Ranch four times a year. The children and their
families get to have a real West Texas experience that includes everything from
horseback riding to fishing.
Now, many retreats later, Basinger has complemented the generous amount of
time he has devoted to Texas Children’s Cancer Center patients and their families with a
gift that will create a lasting legacy for generations to come.