The retired professor of a Bronx medical school has made a staggering donation that will ensure all current and future students earn a world-class education without paying a dime.
Dr. Ruth Gottesman donated $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine -- it's believed to be the largest financial donation to any medical school in the country.
The gift has a single purpose: provide free tuition to all students.
The funds have an almost immediate effect. According to Monday's announcement, students currently enrolled for a fourth year will receive a reimbursement for their spring semester tuition. Then, come August, all students going forward will receive free tuition.
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“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," Dr. Yaron Tomer, the Marilyn and Stanley Katz Dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said.
During Gottesman's tenure at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, dating back to 1968, she worked for the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center where she developed screening tests used to help tens of thousands of children. In the 1990s, she started the Adult Literacy Program at the center and was named founding director of the Emily Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities.
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The $1 billion donation was made possible by Gottesman's late husband, David Gottseman, also known as Sandy. Her late husband died in 2022 after a long career in Manhattan working at investment firms, according to The New York Times.
"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 said.
The Times reports yearly tuition at the college is more than $59,000, with many graduating from the institution with debt surpassing $200,000.
“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," Gottesman's statement said.
