The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City has declared it will offer tuition-free education to all its students from this point forward, due to a generous $1 billion endowment from Dr. Ruth Gottesman, a former academic staff and chairperson at the institution.
This monumental donation by Dr. Gottesman, a 93-year-old widow of the Wall Street investor David “Sandy” Gottesman, aims to alleviate the financial burden on students, allowing them to pursue their medical education debt-free.
She hopes that graduates from Einstein will excel in their fields and contribute to advancements in disease prevention and healthcare.
“Each year, well over 100 students enter Albert Einstein College of Medicine in their quest for degrees in medicine and science. They 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.”
The $1 billion donation supports not only student education but also research, clinical practice, and community outreach within the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Health System.
The cost of tuition at Einstein stands at $59,458 annually, with the national average for medical school debt in the U.S. reaching $202,453, excluding undergraduate loans. The contribution from Dr. Gottesman will impact roughly 800 existing students and 200 new students each year.
The college also said in a statement that the donation,
“Radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it,” and that it will “free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive.”
The college reports that its latest class is composed of 50% New York residents, 59% female students, and a majority of students identifying as people of color.
Dr. Gottesman’s history at Einstein includes pioneering work in diagnosing and treating children with learning disabilities, as well as initiating an adult literacy project and founding the Emily Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine now joins the New York University School of Medicine as the second institution in New York to remove tuition fees. This move is seen as a step towards addressing the physician shortage and escalating costs of medical education in the U.S.
The college also acknowledges that the donation serves to honor the name and legacy of the eminent physicist and humanitarian Albert Einstein, who agreed to have the college named after him in 1953.