St. Baldrick's Tops $25K, Adds Another Shavee

The College of Medicine said goodbye to a constant campus presence Friday, April 4: "Regular Mo"—aka, Bruce Giffin's mustache.

Giffin, PhD, interim associate dean for medical education, had pledged to shave his mustache as part of the annual St. Baldrick's fundraiser, in which medical students shave and donate their hair to raise money for pediatric cancer research.

He set the bar high—shaving only if the pediatrics club raised more than $20,000 for the St. Baldrick's foundation.

With the final orders coming in for another faculty donation, home-baked cakes from associate professor Wan Lim, PhD, medical student and St. Baldrick's co-organizer Katie Baughman says the current total for this year's fundraiser is $26,305.

"We went above and beyond our goal of $20,000, and we could not be more grateful for and proud of the support our cause received throughout the year," she says. "Thank you to our amazing donors for their time and skills, monetary donations, in-kind donations and hair! We truly appreciate all the support in helping save the lives of children right here in our community and around the world."

Standing in MSB 5051 Friday, April 4, Giffin joked that he was not as enthusiastic.

"When you came to me for the project, I thought there was no way you'd raise the money," he told the crowd of students. "I'm sad in a way. I was not expecting this."

The shaving ceremony include a PowerPoint presentation of Regular Mo's history, from its creation in a shaving mishap in Giffin's college years to its presence at high school concerts, band camps, biology labs and trips to Europe.

"This isn't trivial," said Giffin. "Regular Mo has been around a long time."

Once he shaved it, Giffin pledged to grow Regular Mo right back, and possibly wear some adhesive-back replacements in the meantime.