NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Meharry Medical College has received a $175 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies in an effort to advance health equity worldwide.
According to the college, this is the largest in it's history.
This is part of a combined $600 million investment by Bloomberg Philanthropies in the nation’s four historically Black medical schools.
Because Meharry is a close knit campus, the announcement didn't stay secret for long. "Somebody was like, we’re getting money y’all. And we’re all like oh my gosh money," said Sydelle Davis, a second year medical school student at Meharry.
Davis has one, not-so-subtle suggestion for how the school could spend the money. "Well for one, we can get some financial burdens lifted for our students," she suggested.
Meharry's President, Dr. James K. Hildreth, says they're still working with the Bloomberg Philanthropies team to see what they can and can't do with the funds. But helping students complete their degree is certainly at the heart of all of their ideas. "Because of this increase in our endowment, our ability to offer scholarships to students will be increased significantly," said Dr. Hildreth during an interview with NewsChannel 5. "It’s going to allow us to continue our legacy of sending people out into communities, under-served communities, to serve excellent care to those communities."
This isn't the first time Bloomberg has invested in Meharry, as Bloomberg Philanthropies gifted $34 million to the school in 2020.
Davis thinks having more black doctors and dentists can enrich communities across the country. "Having that representation, seeing somebody that looks like you doing what you’re doing, and being able to relate to you on a whole different level, it just kind of solidifies the fact this is possible," she said. "We need more people like us out there."
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at kelly.broderick@newschannel5.com.
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