Stephen Klasko hadn’t been running the Thomas Jefferson University empire for long before his thoughts turned to Sidney Kimmel.

A Philadelphia native who became a billionaire in the fashion industry, Kimmel had given generously to Jefferson in the 1990s but not much since despite funding the performing arts center that bears his name.

But Klasko, who last month hit the one-year mark as university president and health system chief executive officer, knew Kimmel had built Jones New York by aggressively expanding and thinking outside the box. So his hunch was the two would get along. This turned out to be an understatement.

“We really connected on the vision of reimagining health care,” Klasko said, recalling his April visit to Kimmel’s Fifth Avenue penthouse above Central Park.

Two months later came the announcement that Kimmel had given Jefferson $110 million, the fifth-largest gift ever to a U.S. medical school. And Klasko was a big step closer to his goal of reinvention.

“Nobody’s coming down from Mars to reinvent health care,” says Klasko, 60. “Why not us?”

Read more at philly.com