Robert D Kern

Mr. Kern founded Generac Power Systems, a generator-manufacturing company in Waukesha, Wis. Robert Kern first came to the Mayo Clinic as a 5-year-old patient in 1930. It was the beginning of the Great Depression, and Mr. Kern’s father, a minister with little money, could not pay for his sick little boy’s treatment. The Mayo Clinic provided that care for free. Nowadays, the former patient is gratefully giving back. Mr. and Ms. Kern, ages 88 and 85, respectively, pledged $67.3-million to the Mayo Clinic’s Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery last year and have stipulated that most of the donation, $54.3-million, be used to support the center’s operational costs. The couple has directed $10-million toward endowing five scientific-director positions, and the remaining $3-million will support the center’s online education programs.