As UMass Medical School has expanded its class size to meet the primary care needs of the commonwealth, scholarships for the School of Medicine have become even more important. This year, 31 students were awarded more than $40,000 in scholarships supported by UMMS alumni. Additionally, 129 students were awarded $589,000 in scholarships and financial aid supported by friends of the medical school. Twenty new endowed scholarships—including 13 supported by alumni—were recently established.
“Your gifts have great power,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the School of Medicine, to scholarship donors and scholarship recipients who attended the Annual Scholarship Dinner held on Wednesday, Oct. 11. “Beyond helping the students of today and even tomorrow, they will also benefit the communities these students will one day serve.”
Endowed scholarship funds represent enduring legacies that make the UMass Medical School education experience accessible and affordable for aspiring physicians for whom medical school tuition might be out of reach without scholarship assistance. The Annual Scholarship Dinner recognizes donors who have generously contributed to scholarships, which include endowed and current-use scholarship funds that support UMass Medical School students.
In a tradition of the annual dinner, students who received scholarships shared personal accounts of their journeys to UMass Medical School and how donor support has helped them.
Irv Heifetz, MD, SOM ’79, was recognized for his longstanding commitment to the Alumni Association. For nearly 25 years, Dr. Heifetz served as president of the Alumni Association board, which hosted the scholarship dinner for many years. Recently the event was expanded to thank all scholarship donors.
“You’re admitted to our school because you’re one of the best students; not because of how much you have, but because of what you can become,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins in a video (above) that was shown at the dinner.
