$1b donation makes NY medical school tuition free
A former professor and the widow of a Wall Street investor has given the Albert Einstein College of Medicine a $1 billion donation, with the intention that it be used to pay for all future tuition for all students.
The donor, Ruth Gottesman, is a former professor at Einstein College, where she conducted research on learning disabilities, created a screening exam, and oversaw literacy initiatives.
According to a New York Times report, it is one of the biggest charitable donations ever made to an educational institution in the United States and probably the largest ever made to a medical school.
Her late husband, Sandy Gottesman, was a protégé of Warren Buffett and had invested early in the company Buffett founded, Berkshire Hathaway.
The donation is remarkable not only for its enormous amount but also for its intended use -- a medical facility in the Bronx, the most impoverished borough of the city. The Bronx is New York's unhealthiest county, with a high rate of premature deaths. The wealthiest borough of the city, Manhattan, has seen a number of billionaires donate hundreds of millions of dollars to renowned hospitals and medical schools over the past several years.
According to Gottesman, her gift will help incoming medical professionals start their careers debt-free -- medical school debt can top $200,000. In addition, she hoped that more individuals who otherwise could not afford to attend medical school would be admitted as students, the report said.
Gottesman began her long career at Einstein, a prestigious medical school, in 1968 when she accepted a position as director of psychoeducational services. Her husband operated an investment firm called First Manhattan. She has served as chair of Einstein's board of trustees for a considerable amount of time.
She has grown close to Philip Ozuah, the pediatrician who serves as the chief executive officer of the health system and is in charge of the medical college and its affiliated hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, in recent years.
That friendship and trust loomed large as she contemplated what to do with the money her husband had left her.