Dorrance H. Hamilton was a longtime Jefferson University Trustee. Among her remarkable achievements, “Dodo” chaired the successful Jefferson 2000 Fund Capital Campaign, a comprehensive fundraising effort on behalf of the university and hospital that exceeded its $200 million goal benefiting countless patients.

A member of the university’s Board of Trustees since 1972 and a member of the hospital’s Women’s Board since 1957, Dodo Hamilton generously supported a wide variety of programs and earned a reputation for exceptional philanthropic leadership and service to Jefferson.

A landmark gift of $25 million from Dodo Hamilton allowed Thomas Jefferson University to literally transform its campus with the construction of a campus green and medical education building. Mrs. Hamilton’s gift, at the time the largest donation ever made to Jefferson, helped Jefferson define the future of clinical care.

Among Dodo Hamilton’s many other contributions to Jefferson was a $5 million gift to the Department of Medicine to support laboratory renovations and two professorships. This gift launched the Jefferson 2000 Fund. Thereafter her extraordinary generosity and commitment to Jefferson was shown by a $3 million gift to honor the skill and caring of the three physicians who cared for her late husband, Samuel M. V. Hamilton.

In 1998, Dodo committed $2.2 million over 10 years to expand key medical oncology and surgical programs at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. This gift enhanced Jefferson’s efforts to recruit leading oncologists who specialize in major areas of cancer treatment.

Dodo served on several Philadelphia boards, including The University of the Arts and Morris Arboretum. Her children, Margaret H. Duprey, N. Peter Hamilton, and S. Matthews V. Hamilton Jr., are prominently involved in Philadelphia area philanthropic organizations.