Philanthropy News
BY ALEXIS HARWOOD
FA L L /WS PI NR TI NEGR 2 0178 | 35
Precious memories inspire philanthropic support
for medical and PA students
Herbert “Bert” Knauf, MD ’92, met Jodi
Jones on a plastic surgery rotation at
UF. She was in her final year of physician
assistant studies, and he was completing
his fourth year of medical school. After
some time of long-distance dating, they
were married in 1994.
“There was no one like Jodi. People were
drawn to her energy and to what her
friends affectionately coined ‘Jodi spirit.’
She was generous, caring and altruistic.
She spent her life helping people live well,”
Knauf said.
Jodi was an avid Gator fan, known for
her proud support for her alma mater.
She received her bachelor’s degree in
occupational therapy from UF in 1978. After
working as a certified hand therapist for
more than 12 years, she decided to go back
to UF to become a physician assistant, a
career she embraced for 16 years.
“She was very passionate about her work.
She really loved it,” Knauf said.
In 2000, she was diagnosed with breast
cancer, and after undergoing a double
mastectomy and chemotherapy, she was
cancer-free. In 2008, the cancer recurred
in her liver and bones. After years of more
chemotherapy, she passed away in 2015.
“Jodi was a fighter,” Knauf said. “She fought
this battle with breast cancer for 15 years.
She did all of this for our daughter, Rachel,
who was truly her pride and joy — her
‘beautiful musical girl.’”
After her death, it was important to the
family to make good things come of the
experience. Knauf, an ophthalmologist,
and Jodi’s parents, Doris “Dodo” and Glenn
Jones, wanted to give back to UF in her
name to something she would appreciate.
They established the Jodi Jones Knauf
Scholarship.
“The endowed scholarship is a legacy that
goes on and on and is going to help lots of
students over many years,” Knauf said.
The Jodi Jones Knauf Scholarship supports
medical and physician assistant students at
the UF College of Medicine. It is awarded in
multi-year cycles, so that the scholarship is
given to a physician assistant for two years,
then to a medical student for four years,
rotating thereafter.
Knauf hopes the scholarship will not
only honor his wife’s memory and her
unbreakable spirit, but that it will also
encourage students to give back when
they have an opportunity to do so.
“That is her legacy,” Knauf said. “Giving
and making other people’s lives better.
Something we should all strive for.”
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T H E I R F U T U R E
Y O U R L E G A C Y
S P R I N G 0 1 8 Rachel Knauf and Jodi Jones Knauf
PHOTO COURTESY OF HERBERT KNAUF, MD