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The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx
Photo: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
Anyone who wants to study in the USA has to spend a lot of money - a former professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine now wants to make it easier for some students.
Ruth Gottesman donates $1 billion to New York faculty to pay tuition for all students.
The university announced this on Monday.
It is the largest gift of its kind ever made in the United States.
Gottesman denies the donation from the assets of her late husband, David “Sandy” Gottesman.
The former Wall Street investor died in September 2022.
"I am very grateful to my late husband Sandy for leaving me this fortune, and I feel blessed to have the great privilege of making this donation to such a worthy cause," she said in a joint statement cited with the university.
Gottesman came to medical school in 1968.
During her time at the school, she researched learning disabilities in children and developed an adult literacy program.
She is currently chair of the Einstein Board of Trustees and sits on the board of the affiliated hospital.
Tuition fees of $60,000 a year
The donation will reimburse all current full-time students' fees for the spring semester of 2024, and all future students will be able to attend the university free of charge.
Tuition at the school is around $60,000 per year, leaving many students with more than $200,000 in debt upon graduation.
The “donation is intended to attract a talented and diverse pool of individuals who might otherwise not have the means to complete a medical degree,” the university said.
The university is attended by around 1,100 students.
It is located in the Bronx, an area that ranks last in New York State for population health, according to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
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