A $1 billion gift to Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City will provide free tuition in perpetuity for all future students. It is one of the largest philanthropic gifts ever given to a medical school — following a trend of increasingly large, single donations to these institutions.
While the Association of American Medical Colleges reported a 2% decrease in medical school fundraising totals between 2022-2023, there was also a 46.5% increase in average gift from individuals per institution during the same period.
Here are six other major donations given to U.S. medical schools in the last 13 years:
- In 2021, the Western Michigan University School of Medicine in Kalamazoo, Mich., received a gift of $550 million in support for scholarships, advancing medical education and research, and faculty expertise. At the time, the gift was the largest given to any public higher education institution in the U.S.
- Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic School of Medicine received a $200 million endowment in 2018 to establish more scholarship opportunities and revamp its curriculum.
- Harvard Medical School in Boston was given $200 million in 2018 for support of additional medical research, including the use of data and artificial intelligence within medicine.
- The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Boulder, Colo., received a philanthropic gift of $120 million in 2018 for faculty recruitment, growth and development of its academic medical campus, and for expanding medical research efforts.
- In 2014, the University of California Los Angeles' David Geffen School of Medicine received $100 million to cover the cost of medical school education in its entirety for top students.
- In 2011, the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine in Philadelphia was given a $225 million endowment gift to support and name the school.