Bloomberg Gifts Morehouse School of Medicine Over $26 Million

Atlanta GA

04 September, 2020

11:38 AM

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ATLANTA, GA — Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has been awarded $26.3 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organization founded by entrepreneur and former New York City Mayor and Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, the school announced Thursday. The donation is part of a $100-million fund for students attending the nation's four historically Black medical schools: Morehouse School of Medicine (Atlanta), Charles R. Drew University of Medicine (Los Angeles), Howard University College of Medicine (Washington, D.C.), and Meharry Medical College (Nashville) over the next four years. The funds will be used to reduce medical school loan debt for Black students currently enrolled and receiving student aid. Each student will receive approximately $100,000. "This historic investment in the Morehouse School of Medicine will lift the crushing burden of student debt and empower our graduates to take on the systemic racial inequities and injustice that have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic," said Morehouse School of Medicine President and Dean Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD. "These dollars will help free up future doctors to immediately head to the front lines and save Black lives while also improving healthcare access, equity, and quality for everyone. We appreciate Mayor Bloomberg's investment in health equity." This is the largest scholarship investment ever received by MSM, as well as the largest aggregate gift to date given to historically Black medical schools from a single source. This is the first investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies' Greenwood Initiative, which is named for the Tulsa, Ok., community and historical site of "Black Wall Street" and the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. The Greenwood Initiative seeks to increase generational wealth among Black families and address systemic underinvestment in Black communities and institutions. "More Black doctors will mean more Black lives saved, and fewer health problems that limit economic opportunity," said Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP, and three-term Mayor of New York City. "During my campaign for President, I proposed a bold set of policies — which we called the Greenwood Initiative — to shrink the racial wealth gap. Today's commitment by Bloomberg Philanthropies is just the first step we will take to bring that work to life."