A New York medical school will scrap tuition fees after receiving a "transformational gift" worth $1 billion from a wealthy benefactor, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's parent organization said in a statement.
The charitable donation is one of the largest ever publicly received by an educational institution in the United States and will see the almost $60,000 undiscounted annual tuition fee become zero.
The school, and its affiliated hospital the Montefiore Medical Center, are located in the Bronx -- New York City's poorest borough, where health outcomes are some of the worst in the state, according to official statistics.
A clip of the announcement being made on campus, posted to social media, showed an auditorium of students reacting rapturously, cheering, screaming and applauding.
We are profoundly grateful that Dr. Ruth Gottesman, Professor Emerita of Pediatrics at @EinsteinMed, has made a transformational gift to #MontefioreEinstein—the largest to any medical school in the country—that ensures no student has to pay tuition again. https://t.co/XOy9HZLbfDpic.twitter.com/1ijv02jHFk
— Montefiore Health System (@MontefioreNYC) February 26, 2024
"Albert Einstein College of Medicine has received a transformational gift from Ruth L. Gottesman, Ed.D., Chair of the Einstein Board of Trustees and Montefiore Health System board member," the organization said in a statement late Monday.
"This historic gift -- the largest made to any medical school in the country -- will ensure that no student at Einstein will have to pay tuition again."
All current fourth-year students will be reimbursed their spring 2024 semester fees and from August all future students will receive free tuition, the statement added.
Gottesman, 93, is a former clinical professor of paediatrics at Einstein and the wife of David Gottesman, a former Wall Street financier. They were significant donors to the school during his lifetime.
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