Attending medical school is expensive. The average medical school graduate owes him $250,995 in total student loans. This does not include debt incurred during undergrad. Students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, are no exception to this trend, with nearly half of them graduating with more than $200,000 in debt for their medical education, according to the school.
A $1 billion gift from Dr. Ruth Gottesman, a former Einstein professor, would change everything.
Starting this August, all Einstein students will be completely tuition-free. All current fourth-year students will receive a tuition refund for spring 2024.
Mr. Gottesman's gift is the largest gift to a medical school in the country. This means Einstein students will no longer have to pay tuition fees.
We are deeply grateful to Dr. Ruth Gottsman, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics. @Einsteingave a transformative gift. #MontefioreEinsteinIt is the largest medical school in the country and guarantees that students will never have to pay tuition again. https://t.co/XOy9HZLbfD pic.twitter.com/1ijv02jHFk
— Montefiore Health System (@MontefioreNYC) February 26, 2024
Gottsman's husband died in 2022, leaving her $1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock with instructions to “do whatever you think is right.” After considering what to do with her money, she ultimately decided to donate it to Einstein. However, she had the condition that her school's name not be changed to honor her donation.
“We had a crazy name — Albert Einstein,” Gottsman told the New York Times.
Mr. Gottsman has been associated with Einstein for more than 55 years, starting in 1968 at Einstein's Child Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC), where he led efforts to screen, evaluate and treat children's learning problems. She started the first adult literacy program of its kind and established the Emily Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities at CERC. She is currently Clinical Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics (Developmental Medicine) at Einstein and serves as Chair of Einstein's Board of Trustees.
Ruth L. Gottesman, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine;Photo by Brent N. Clark/Getty Images
In a press release, she thanked her late husband and said, “I feel blessed to have been given the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause.”
Ms. Gottesman's colleagues noted her contributions and influence.
“Ruth Gottesman's extraordinary and unprecedented talent gives new meaning to selfless determination and transformative philanthropy. She is a constant inspiration to fellow board members and the entire Montefiore Einstein community. She will be eternally grateful to all who choose to train and learn here,'' said Dan Tishman, Montefiore Einstein Board Chair.
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