From Medical training to a lasting impact

Over the course of the last 50 years, William “Bill” Feaster ’76M (MD) has transitioned from medical student to accomplished physician to generous philanthropist, a series of events set in motion by the very place it all began: the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

I look at being a physician as a gift,” Bill, who spent more than four decades as a pediatric intensivist and anesthesiologist, recalls fondly.

I’ve been able to help so many people, particularly children, over my 41 years of practice. This is my calling, and I’m so glad that Rochester gave me such a solid start.

Prior to landing at Children’s Hospital Orange County, where he recently retired as the hospital’s chief health information officer, Bill’s residency training in Pediatrics and Anesthesiology was completed at UC San Diego. Subsequent fellowship training in Pediatric Anesthesia and Critical Care took him to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It was there he met his wife Sandi, a pediatric critical care nurse, who immediately noticed something special about her husband’s intentional approach to patient care.

“I worked closely with Bill, and there was something special about the way he worked—his empathy and compassion with the children was something I was so impressed with,” Sandi says. “Bill always said it was his training at the University of Rochester that shaped his interactions with patients, and I saw it firsthand.”

As Bill and Sandi’s professional careers took them thousands of miles from the University of Rochester—first to Oakland, California, through faculty positions at Stanford University, and eventually to Orange County—Rochester has continued to play an integral role in their lives.

In fact, Sandi’s own connections to the University of Rochester would surface at Stanford when she was named assistant dean of Immersive and Simulation Based Learning at Stanford Medical School—the first nurse ever named to the role—appointed by School of Medicine and Dentistry alumnus Phil Pizzo ’70M (MD), then dean of Stanford Medical School.

Working alongside Pizzo gave Sandi another window into Rochester’s impact. “In my time working with Phil, I saw the same qualities that I had witnessed years before in Bill—the same empathy and compassion for others,” she says. “It runs deep in the bloodline of Rochester graduates.”

Since then, as their careers have grown and evolved, Bill and Sandi’s commitment to the University of Rochester has only grown stronger. In 2017 and 2025, respectively, the Feasters named the University in their wills and trust to one day establish the Feaster Professorship in Data Science, and a second fund to support the School of Medicine and Dentistry where Bill received his medical degree.

Once realized, these gifts will continue to fuel innovation and growth in two areas that shaped Bill’s professional trajectory: information technology—a reflection of his commitment to leverage data as a means for better patient care and outcomes—and medicine.

It’s no secret that I’m very impressed with the education I received, and now, I want to help the younger generation that is matriculating—not only to understand how great the education is, but to support the university’s financial health and ensure that it continues to grow and thrive for years to come, –Bill Feaster ‘76M (MD)

As Bill and Sandi consider the long-term impact of their generosity, they view giving back not as a duty, but a privilege—an opportunity to shape the future, even in their absence.

“One thing I want to ensure is that the university continues to advance the Biopsychosocial model, the humanism of treating the whole patient and not just their disease, which has long set Rochester apart,” Bill says.

“It certainly set me apart.”

The Feasters are also members of the Wilson Society, which honors and celebrates philanthropic individuals who have established life-income plans or named the University as a beneficiary of their estate.