Dr. Paul Caputo Expresses Gratitude Through Estate Gift
Dr. Paul V. Caputo Sr., ’83, is a grateful alumnus of the College.
“The State of Illinois provided me with an excellent education,” Dr. Caputo said. “I have derived a fine career thanks to that education.”
Not only did Illinois provide a state dental school in the UIC College of Dentistry, but it also provided Dr. Caputo with a scholarship to attend the College. At the time, members of the Illinois General Assembly had several higher education scholarships they could provide to constituents.
“A fine man, State Representative Ralph C. Caparelli, took me under his wing and sat with me yearly to see how I was progressing at school and if I was still ‘deserving’ of the scholarship,” Dr. Caputo said.
Rep. Caparelli, 94, who represented the Chicago Northwest Side 16th District and then the 13th District in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2004, “made sure that I continued my studies and maintained good grades. I am pretty sure he even reached out to my instructors to make sure I wasn’t ‘mailing it in.’”
Dr. Caputo’s parents had four sons, so with a big family there was not a lot of money to spare. “My father was a hard-working man, but he really couldn’t afford to put a son through dental school,” Dr. Caputo explained. “If it were not for Rep. Caparelli, I may not have been able to achieve the things I have.”
Those achievements include having a family of his own, and a general dentistry practice in Naperville, IL. “We may not be the biggest practice, but I feel we are one of the best,” Dr. Caputo said. “We have been serving Naperville since 1992.”
Dr. Caputo noted he served in several associateships after graduation “until I decided to take the plunge into practice ownership.”
Feeling “that I should give back to the University that provided this awesome education,” Dr. Caputo said, he recently provided an estate gift to the College. This deferred gift will benefit the College during the IGNITE Campaign and provide tax advantages to Dr. Caputo’s estate after his lifetime.
“Deferred gifts are some of the simplest, most flexible, and popular methods of supporting the College’s future,” explained Bruno Mancari, Director of Development. “They include naming the University of Illinois Foundation for the benefit of the College as a beneficiary in your will, living trust, or retirement plan, or payable after your lifetime.”
Dr. Caputo noted that on the advice of Douglas Colbeth, founder of the Colbeth Clinic in the Institute of Juvenile Research at the College of Medicine at UIC, Dr. Caputo and his wife, Cindy, opened a Donation Advisory Fund. “We are able to derive a fine tax advantage to place highly appreciated assets into the fund and disburse them as we see fit to qualified charities,” he said.
Giving back to the College is something that Dr. Caputo recommends to other alumni. “In today’s age, we need to help provide for the future of our profession,” he said. “We must be stewards of the University and College that provided us with the lives we lead.”
In thinking about his life, Dr. Caputo said, “I am blessed.” Not only because of a great career and family, but because “both parents are still here,” he said. “Mom and Dad still live in the home I grew up in on Chicago’s Northwest Side.”
In addition to their estate provision, Dr. Caputo and his wife, Cindy, have made a second IGNITE Campaign gift to name a clinical operatory in the Gershwin Clinic.
Dr. Caputo recalled that his father worked in insurance, retired, and became a substitute high school teacher, retiring from that second career just last year.
To discuss your gift planning options or any questions, please reach our Director of Gift Planning Jason James Shuba, JD, at 312.413.3394 or shuba@uic.edu.