The University of Washington School of Medicine is the recipient of its largest-ever donation in support of medical education. The endowed gift totals $25 million. It is aimed at helping students who will make a commitment to rural health care in the Northwest.
Most of the annual gift will cover half of the tuition costs for 30 students who need financial aid and are also committed to serving as primary care doctors in Indigenous and rural communities.
UW Medical School Dean Dr. Tim Dellit said with new federal limits on how much students can borrow, tuition assistance provided by the donation will make a difference immediately.
“What this gift allows us to do is to help support these individuals from rural communities who want to give back, want to serve those communities, and decrease that financial pressure to allow them to do that,” Dellit said.
UW medical students face total tuition costs of $220,000 for their degree. The Trump administration put limits on medical school tuition loans, capping them at $200,000.
“That math doesn’t work,” Dellit said. “That’s why I feel this is so transformational. We have to decrease that financial burden so that our students can pursue their dreams and not their debt.”
The gift comes from the William and Carolyn Franke family. The scholarships will be gifted to students from what’s known as the WWAMI Region, which comprises the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. They help fulfill the region’s goal of promoting rural healthcare in the five states. Dellit said the region was formed more than 50 years ago to address the challenges of supplying enough doctors to serve rural communities. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing the same challenges today,” he said.
Dellit noted the jump in retirements as a result of the pandemic and recent cuts to Medicaid left many rural areas greatly underserved.
“We already see shortages of specialists in rural areas, shortages of obstetricians, shortages for heart care, and that seems to be just getting worse when you look at that combination with the cost of medical education,” he said.
The scholarship assistance will begin this year. A portion of the annual endowment will fund educational programs aimed at middle and high school students to inspire careers in rural medicine and advance recruitment efforts.
Philanthropist Dave Franke, who represents the donors, said his family has relied on rural medicine in Montana. Franke said the donation’s two-pronged approach — of helping current students and recruiting future ones — was key to inspiring his family’s financial commitment.
“What excites us is that ripple effect, and we like to look for gifts where one and one makes five,” Franke explained. The new fund creates the Franke Family Fund for Excellence to strengthen student recruitment and retention.
The fund’s first recipients begin the new school year next month.
