The gift doubles the College of Medicine’s endowment, as three other HBCU medical schools will receive funds in the $600 million total donation.
The gift doubles the College of Medicine’s endowment, as three other HBCU medical schools will receive funds in the $600 million total donation.
Howard University will receive $175 million in support of the endowment of the College of Medicine. Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., will attendPhilanthropies’ announcement in New York City Tuesday morning, as he called the endowment a “unreservedly transformational gift” for the University.
“Endowment support has traditionally been an area of underinvestment for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but today’s gift is an extraordinary vote of confidence in the lasting benefits of such support,” said President Vinson. “Thank you to Mikeand thePhilanthropies ’ Greenwood Initiative for your inspiring leadership and commitment to addressing the racial wealth gap and decades of underinvestment in Black communities.”
We have to have doctors who are sensitive to these issues.”
A 2023 study released in the Journal for the Medical American Association (JAMA) revealed that, due to racism and discrimination in American medicine, patients of color live longer when cared for by doctors, nurses, and medical staff of color.
The unprecedented endowment gives Howard’s College of Medicine a chance to train and develop more medical professionals to care for communities of color. Black physicians and doctors only make up 5.7% of their field. Every year, 1200 Black students graduate from medical school. Of those graduates, 400 of them matriculated at HBCUs.
Howard University College of Medicine Dean Andrea Hayes Dixon, M.D., FACS, FAAP, called the $175 million gift a “generous, catalytic” opportunity that will “reverberate through generations of future Black and brown doctors.”
“The onus of the financial commitment that usually hangs over the head of many minority medical students will be lifted, allowing these talented youngsters to concentrate solely on becoming some of the world ’ s outstanding physicians who are committed to bringing hope and healing to underserved communities and increasing the survival of all patients who experience disparities in healthcare,” said Hayes Dixon.
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