MIa Boykin
Howard University College of Medicine is a part of a $600 million donation to four HBCU medical schools. Bloomberg Philanthropies, the group that provided the donation, hopes the money will address long-standing funding inequities and boost each institution’s ability to train the next generation of Black factors.
Howard will receive $175 million of the total donation, matching the amounts given to Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, and Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science in Los Angeles, California, will receive $75 million.
Dr. Ben Vinson III, President of Howard University, emphasized the profound impact of this donation. “Endowment support has traditionally been an area of underinvestment for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but today’s donation is an extraordinary vote of confidence in the lasting benefits of such support,” Vinson said. He added that the funds would “cultivate the next generation of health professionals and invest in the intergenerational wealth and health of medical students and the communities they serve.”
The significance of this donation cannot be overstated. These four institutions are responsible for educating approximately half of all Black doctors in the United States, playing a crucial role in diversifying the medical workforce. It is well known that healthcare for Black patients is significantly biased due to racism within and outside the medical field, it is a hope that supporting Black doctors will help mitigate this issue. Despite this outsized impact, they have historically struggled with underfunded endowments, a result of systemic inequities including lower federal and state support.
Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and former New York City mayor, underscored the importance of this initiative. “We have much more to do to build a country where every person, regardless of race, has equal access to quality health care – and where students from all backgrounds can pursue their dreams,” Bloomberg said.
This donation is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, which aims to advance racial wealth equity by addressing systemic underinvestment in Black institutions and communities. The initiative recognizes the critical role these medical schools play in improving health outcomes in underserved communities.
Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, president and CEO of Meharry Medical College, called the donation “a major, major investment that will have generational impact.” He noted that the donation “shows the rest of the country and the world” that Bloomberg Philanthropies values HBCUs.
The timing of this donation is particularly significant given the recent Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious admissions in higher education. This ruling could potentially impact diversity in medical school admissions, especially at elite institutions.
The scale of this donation becomes even more apparent when considering recent financial data on HBCUs. The United Negro College Fund reported in January that no HBCU had an endowment valued at $1 billion or more, a threshold exceeded by more than 100 schools in the United States. Most HBCUs were working with less than $100 million, according to the fund.
This latest donation builds on Bloomberg Philanthropies’ previous support for these institutions. In September 2020, the organization announced a $100 million donation to the four HBCU medical schools to reduce student debt. An additional $6 million was provided in 2021 to support COVID-19 vaccine access in their communities.
In addition to supporting existing institutions, the donation includes seed funding for a new medical school. The Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, a partnership between Xavier University of Louisiana and Ochsner Health, will receive a $5 million grant. Dr. Reynold Verret, President of Xavier University of Louisiana, highlighted the significance of this new institution in addressing healthcare shortages in the Gulf South region.
The impact of this donation extends far beyond the immediate financial boost to these institutions. By strengthening the financial foundation of these schools, the donation aims to increase the number of Black medical professionals, address healthcare disparities, and improve health outcomes in underserved communities across the country.
As Howard University and its peer institutions prepare to leverage this transformative donation, the healthcare landscape in Washington, D.C., and beyond stands poised for positive change. This investment in Black medical education represents a significant step toward creating a more equitable and diverse healthcare system, with ripple effects expected to benefit communities for generations to come.
The donation comes at a time when only about 5 percent of U.S. doctors are Black, according to a 2022 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. However, HBCUs play an outsized role in their education, with graduates of historically Black colleges and universities accounting for half of the country’s Black doctors.
