VOA教育报道2024--Large Gift Covers Costs for Johns Hopkins Medical Classes

Most medical students at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland will no longer pay for classes thanks to a $1 billion gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Starting in the autumn, the gift will cover costs for classes, or tuition, for medical students who come from families earning less than $300,000. Living expenses and other costs will be covered for students from families who earn up to $175,000.

Bloomberg Philanthropies said that almost two-thirds of all students currently seeking a doctor of medicine degree from Johns Hopkins meet the requirements for financial aid.

And 45 percent of the current class will also receive living expenses.

The school estimates that graduates' average total loans will decrease from $104,000 currently to $60,279 by 2029.

The gift will also increase financial aid for students at the university's schools of nursing, public health, and other graduate schools.

Michael Bloomberg is the founder¹ of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP. He said in a statement recently, "By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they're passionate² about - and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most."

Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, received a degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1964.

Ron Daniels, the president of Johns Hopkins University, said the gift will go to the university's endowment and all of the money will go directly to students.

Daniels said that Michael Bloomberg had been moved by the difficulties that healthcare professionals faced during the pandemic "and the heroic efforts" they made to help American citizens.

Daniels added about Bloomberg, "I think he simply wanted to recognize the importance of these fields and provide this support to ensure that the best and brightest could attend medical school and the school of nursing and public health."

Bloomberg Philanthropies previously³ gave $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins in 2018. The goal was to make sure that undergraduate students could go to the school regardless of their family's finances.

Series of big gifts

Johns Hopkins will be the latest medical school to offer free tuition to most or all of their medical students.

In February, Ruth Gottesman, a former professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the widow of a Wall Street investor⁴, announced that she was giving $1 billion to the New York City school. The gift meant that four-year students immediately received free tuition and all other students will be offered free tuition in the autumn.

In 2018, Kenneth and Elaine Langone gave $100 million to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine to make tuition free for all current and future medical students. The couple gave a second gift of $200 million in 2023 to the NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine to guarantee free tuition for all medical students.

Kenneth Langone is a co-founder of Home Depot⁵, a large home improvement company.

Other medical schools, like UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, offer special awards known as merit-based scholarships. These awards were a result of some $146 million in gifts from David Geffen, a major figure in the recording⁶ industry. The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine has also offered tuition-free education for medical students since 2008.

Candice Chen of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University has researched the social missions of medical schools. Chen believes medical schools are not producing enough primary care, "mental health specialists as well as the doctors who will work in and serve in rural and underserved communities."

Chen said she would have loved to see gifts, like those to John Hopkins, NYU and Albert Einstein, go to Meharry Medical College in Tennessee, for example. The school is a historically Black school that has produced many primary care doctors who work in communities that have shortages of care.

Words in This Story

graduate - adj. describes a person who has completed a program of study; relating to or engaged in studies beyond the bachelor's degree

essential -- adj. of the utmost importance

passionate - adj. expressing intense feeling

enable - v. to make possible

endowment - n. the part of an institution's income that comes from donations or gifts

undergraduate - n. a student at a college or university who has not received a bachelor's degree

widow - n. a woman who has lost her spouse⁷ or partner by death

merit -- n. character, conduct, or performance deserving reward

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？