UW School of Medicine gifted $25 million for rural health scholarship
The University of Washington School of Medicine has received a $25 million donation that will support students hoping to one day provide healthcare in rural and Indigenous communities.
The massive gift comes from philanthropists Bill and Carolyn Franke and their family, who say they want to highlight the value of healthcare in rural areas. It's the largest donation the college has ever received for medical student education, said Dr. Tim Dellit, dean of the UW School of Medicine and CEO of UW Medicine.
We are incredibly grateful to the Franke family for their generosity and their vision to really improve access to care," Dellit said.
The money will create the Franke Medical Student Scholars Program, a new scholarship for the UW School of Medicine, which serves Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, known as the WWAMI region.
Of the $25 million annual total, the majority will be used to cover half of tuition for about 30 medical students. The scholarship will be awarded to people who demonstrate financial need and are committed to practicing in rural or Native areas, as well as those who might be from underrepresented communities or first-generation college students, said Dave Franke, president of Franke & Co. and one of Bill Franke's sons.
The scholarship is intended to "let young students know that if you have a dream or desire to be a medical student and think it's not possible, it's possible," he said.
An additional $4.5 million will create a separate fund aimed at bolstering student recruitment and retention, including hosting an annual medical education summit.
"If we can create a framework to the gift that helps really elevate and move the program into some new places and shine a light on it, that's what gets us excited," Dave Franke said.
Because his father - an airline investor - grew up in rural Texas and now lives part time in northwestern Montana, the family can attest to the importance of rural medical providers, Dave Franke said.
"We have seen firsthand that the physician shortage in many rural communities persists today and we saw an opportunity to help address this challenge," Bill Franke, who founded private equity firm Indigo Partners, said in a UW Medicine statement.
The family has several connections to Washington and UW: Dave Franke and his siblings grew up in Spokane, and he is a Husky alum, along with his maternal grandparents. His mother and sister live in Spokane and Tacoma, respectively. Dave Franke also sits on the UW Foundation Board.
The family has made donations to other higher education institutions in the past, including to the University of Montana and the Mayo Clinic's school of medicine.
UW's medical education is distinct because its program sends students to different states to gain clinical experience as part of the WWAMI partnership, Dellit said. That regional training program was developed in the early 1970s, when physicians were in short supply and located around more urban communities.
"Unfortunately, those pressures are still present very much for us today," Dellit said.
Since then, the school's efforts at equipping rural areas with more providers have been successful, he said, pointing to data that shows 60% to 65% of UW medical students return to practice in the WWAMI region. The Franke gift will further boost that work, he said.
"This will impact not only our students, but we really believe will improve the health of the entire region by supporting these future generations of physicians, Dellit said.
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