A contribution from an unidentified source, anticipated to surpass $50 million, is assisting in funding the educational expenses for students in the medical laboratory science program at the University of Washington over the coming fifty years.
TL;DR
- An anonymous donor is funding medical laboratory science students' tuition at University of Washington for fifty years.
- The gift will cover two academic terms of tuition for final-year clinical rotations for approximately 30 undergraduates.
- This donation aims to address the urgent need for skilled clinical laboratory professionals in Washington state.
- The initiative plans to increase program capacity from 70 to 100 participants over the next decade.
Dr. Tim Dellit, the dean of the university’s School of Medicine, delivered the unexpected news on Monday to approximately 30 appreciative undergraduates. These students will each have two academic terms of tuition expenses paid for their final-year clinical rotations, The Seattle Times reported.
“I’m really shocked,” said Jasmine Wertz, eyes filling with tears. “Overwhelmed. Extremely grateful.”
Individuals in the curriculum receive instruction on conducting medical laboratory analyses using specimens from patients, which aid in identifying, managing, and averting illnesses and other health issues. Their practical training periods are so demanding that securing supplemental employment during these phases proves difficult.
The gift is the latest in a series of recent donations helping pay for college around the country. Last year, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York received a $1 billion donation from Ruth Gottesman, a former professor and the widow of a Wall Street investor, making tuition there free.
Most medical students at Johns Hopkins University no longer pay tuition thanks to a $1 billion gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
At Marshall University in West Virginia this past September, President Brad Smith and his spouse, Alys Smith, revealed a $50 million gift intended to advance a plan focused on eradicating student loan burdens, partly by funding the education costs for West Virginia residents whose household earnings do not exceed $65,000.
According to UW Medicine representative Susan Gregg, the announcement made by The University of Washington on Monday holds a value of approximately $8,000 to $10,000 for each student. Furthermore, the initiative is slated to grow its capacity from 70 to 100 participants throughout the coming decade.
The donor, from Washington state, wishes to remain anonymous, but “had a relationship with this program,” Gregg said. The donor is also a fan of the local burger chain Dick’s, and burgers were piled high atop platters as the students celebrated.
The field of medical laboratory services has faced increasing demand and an aging workforce in Washington, according to UW Medicine. Those factors have resulted in an “urgent need to grow the pipeline of highly skilled clinical laboratory professionals,” the health care system said in a news release.
“You are the glue, in many ways, of our entire health system,” Dellit told the students. “You are the unsung heroes. You work behind the scenes that allow all of the health care machinery to work.”
