Planting Seeds for the Future

“…the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” —2 Corinthians 9:6

Mike and Micki Maris have sown bountifully. They have sown with their time, with their prayers, and with their gifts—to benefit the growth and flourishing of their beloved Baylor University. Most recently, the Marises have directed their generosity toward Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences through the Dr. Mike and Mrs. Micki Maris Endowed Seed Fund for Student Research.

Baylor alumni and longtime University supporters (Mike has not missed a Homecoming since 1957), the Marises were first introduced to Robbins College through their friend Ron Wilson, MD, who was serving on the College’s Board of Advocates. After learning more about the complementary academic, research, and spiritual aspirations of the College, Mike joined the Board alongside his friend. Mike and Micki’s excitement continued to build as he became more engaged with the College, but it was attending the dedication ceremony for the Mary Jo Robbins Clinic for Autism Research and Practice in March 2023 that got them, in Micki’s words, “on fire.”

“After touring the Clinic, we were amazed at what they were doing in that building,” Micki reflected. “We wanted to get really involved. We knew we wanted to do something, at this time, to make a specific donation.”

Inspired to make an impact, the Marises met with Robbins College Dean Jason R. Carter, PhD, and Director of Development Christa Oudshoorn to learn more about the College’s needs and how those needs might align with their own interests. The proposal for a research seed fund immediately caught their attention.

“Discoveries are made in two different ways,” Mike, a practicing dermatologist of 44 years, said. “One is by pure accident—that’s probably the exception, rather than the rule. The other is a more intentional process, the development of an idea.

“If you’re a famous faculty member, you have all kinds of grant availability to develop that idea. But what if you have someone who’s just as sharp—or maybe even sharper—but they’re going through graduate school? They have this great idea, but they don’t have the resources to develop it. We envision the seed fund will be this bridge from having no resources to developing an idea that might have some great merit.”

Through the Maris Seed Fund, Robbins College graduate students, alongside one or more faculty mentors, will have the opportunity to apply for funding to kickstart a specific research project. Applications will be reviewed by a committee, and funds will be awarded to the best and brightest ideas. As Mike noted, the program will give graduate students and faculty alike the resources to dream big, perhaps collect some preliminary data, and allow a great idea to rise to the surface when it may not have otherwise. 

“We envision the seed fund will be this bridge from having no resources to developing an idea that might have some great merit.”

Mike Maris, MD

Micki has resonated with the creativity the project encourages. It hearkened back to her days serving as PTA president for her children’s school and overseeing the innovative program grants that were awarded to teachers based on the applications they submitted.

“I love the creativity. Talking to Jason and Christa—they bubble over with ideas. I really appreciate that about them,” Micki said. “I love all of the new things that Robbins College is starting. It’s not like Jason came in to try to maintain a college. He’s really building it. I love the growth and innovation.”

For his part, Carter expresses his deep thankfulness to the Marises for their generosity.

“I’m just so grateful to Mike and Micki for their willingness to take a chance on developing something new,” Carter said. “What excites me about the Maris Seed Fund is that it’s innovative and different, but it’s also going to spur collaborative efforts between our faculty and our graduate students.”

Mike and Micki Maris are planting something special in Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences. The bounty sown through the seeds of their generosity has gains yet unknown. The harvest will come through the collaboration, the development of ideas, and the opportunity given to bright young minds—for years and years 
to come.