OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
1:55 PM – Monday, February 26, 2024
Dr. Ruth Gottesman reportedly made a $1 billion donation to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, which she claims will guarantee tuition-free education for all students at the institution.
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A billion-dollar donation will enable Albert Einstein College of Medicine of the Bronx in New York City to offer free tuition to medical students in perpetuity.
When former professor Dr. Ruth L. Gottesman, 93, made her historic donation to the Montefiore Health System medical school on Monday morning, students applauded, hugged, and cheered.
Gottesman is the widow of David Gottesman, a protégé of Warren Buffett. When David passed away back in 2022, he left his wife his portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway stocks.
Her late husband’s “words of wisdom” stuck in her memory. He had told her to “do whatever you think is right with it.” Gottesman claimed in a New York Times interview that she knew right away what she intended to do with the funds.
“I wanted to fund students at Einstein so that they would receive free tuition,” she asserted.
She used to be a professor at Einstein, in which she “studied learning disabilities, developed a screening test and ran literacy programs,” according to the Times. She did not want the school to change its name, so that was reportedly the sole reason she initially wanted to make her donation anonymous.
With the gift from the former Bronx medical school professor, tuition will now be free [allegedly] for any student attending the school now or in the near future. This marks the largest donation ever made to a medical school in the United States.
“[Students] leave as superbly trained scientists and compassionate and knowledgeable physicians, with the expertise to find new ways to prevent diseases and provide the finest health care to communities here in the Bronx and all over the world,” Dr. Gottesman said in her statement.
“I am very thankful to my late husband, Sandy, for leaving these funds in my care, and l feel blessed to be given the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause,” Gottesman added.
Dr. Gottesman’s donation is aimed to draw in individuals who may not otherwise have the ability to pursue an education in the medical field.
“This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it. Additionally, it will free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive. We will be reminded of the legacy this historic gift represents each spring as we send another diverse class of physicians out across the Bronx and around the world to provide compassionate care and transform their communities,” Dr. Yaron Tomer, the Marilyn and Stanley Katz Dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said in a statement.
According to a news release, the donation “will enable generations of healthcare leaders who will advance the boundaries of research and care, free from the burden of crushing loan indebtedness.”
The spring tuition for all existing fourth-year students will be reimbursed, and beginning in August, all students attending the Albert Einstein College of Medicine will allegedly receive free tuition.
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